Stage 2 and 3 students using iPads and digital pencils during the augmented reality HPGE program to create augmented reality videos about invertebrate features.

Augmented reality studio HPGE enrichment program | Stage 2–3 Creative Arts and Science and Technology | Field of Mars EEC

Program overview

Augmented Reality Studio is a one-day Stage 2 and Stage 3 Creative Arts and Science and Technology HPGE enrichment program at Field of Mars Reserve where students investigate invertebrates in bushland habitats and use digital technologies to create an augmented reality science explanation. Students work as field scientists, artists and digital creators as they observe small animals, examine their external features and behaviours, collect evidence about how they live in different habitats, and consider how body structures, movement, colour, shelter, food and behaviour support survival. Using Field of Mars EEC iPads, digital pencils, drawing and augmented reality apps, students create a detailed digital invertebrate artwork and bring it to life through narration, movement and video. HPGE domains: creative, intellectual.

A Stage 3 school incursion version of this program, AR adaptations, is also available.

Learning intentions

Students exploring natural areas of the Field of Mars Reserve, carefully collecting invertebrates and observing structural and behavioural adaptations
Stage 3 student creating a detailed digital drawing of an invertebrate on an iPad and recording observations in a fieldwork journal

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Essential information

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost

$60 per student - GST free

This will be processed through the student's home school.

This program is only available to NSW Department of Education school students.

Dates

Available dates

Times

9.15 – Drop off

2.15 – Pick up

Risk assessment

Field of Mars Reserve risk assessment - main location

Transport

Schools are required to organise transport for students to and from the location. No vehicles are permitted into Field of Mars Reserve.

Staff

Teachers are not required to attend but are welcome.

Student selection

Maximum 12 students per school per day.

When choosing your students, remember the program takes place indoors, outdoors and in public spaces. Students may be near creeks and bushland tracks. While EEC teachers supervise them all day, consider if they’ll need SLSO or teacher support to stay safe.

Bring

Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag.

View

Preparing for your excursion

Welfare

Participants will be walking during the day on an accessible boardwalk.

Wheelchair accessible.

May not suit recently unwell participants.

For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.

Extreme or wet weather

Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.

Booking policy

Confirm student details 7 days in advance.

Cancellation fee

Less than 4 weeks notice – full cost

Weather or fire danger cancellation – $0

Activities

Invertebrate fieldwork

Students explore Field of Mars Reserve to investigate invertebrates and the places they live. They search for small animals in leaf litter, bark, soil, logs and vegetation, then record observations about shelter, food, camouflage, movement and behaviour.

Students compare different habitats and use evidence to explain why particular invertebrates may be found in particular places. They consider how external features and behaviours help small animals move, feed, hide, sense their environment and avoid predators.

Digital specimen

Students use Field of Mars EEC iPads and digital pencils to create a detailed scientific artwork of an invertebrate. They observe body shape, legs, antennae, wings, colour, texture, segments and other visible features, then use labels and annotations to explain how these features may support survival.

Students refine their digital specimen using composition, scale, detail and scientific vocabulary. The artwork becomes the central visual element for their augmented reality explanation.

Augmented reality studio

Students use augmented reality and video apps to transform their digital specimen into a multimodal science explanation. They write a short script, record narration, add movement and combine visual effects with scientific information.

Students explain where their invertebrate lives, what features and behaviours it has, and how these may help it survive in its environment.

Completed videos and digital drawings will be shared back to school via Google Drive.

This program is only available to NSW Department of Education schools.

Timetable

Time

Activities

9.15 Arrival
9.30 - 10.15 Invertebrate fieldwork
10.15 - 10.30 Recess
10.30 - 12.00 Digital specimen
12.00 - 12.30 Lunch
12.30 - 2.00 Augmented reality studio
2.15 Depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

observe, investigate, compare, record, infer, explain, refine, communicate, evidence, survival, invertebrate, habitat, microhabitat, external features, behaviour, adaptation, structural adaptation, behavioural adaptation, camouflage, exoskeleton, augmented reality, multimodal, narration

Syllabus outcomes and content

Syllabus outcomes and content Stage 2

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Visual Arts

Outcome

  • makes artworks using art forms to represent subject matter and ideas, and describes ways artists convey ideas about their world to audiences through artworks CA2-VIS-01

Content

Making: Artists represent their world through subject matter and ideas in artworks

  • represent subject matter and ideas in artworks, making choices based on own interpretations of the world
  • use drawing materials and techniques to create effects with texture and tone to represent subject matter and ideas
  • explore balance, scale and proportion in compositions to represent subject matter and ideas
  • demonstrate safe art making practices with respect for physical, social and digital safety

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024) - Stage 2

Physical and living systems depend on energy

Outcomes

  • Uses information to investigate the solar system and the effects of energy on living, physical and geological systems ST2-SCI-01
  • Uses and interprets data to describe patterns and relationships ST2-DAT-01

Content

Living things depend on energy and materials to survive

  • Observe and describe living and non-living things in a habitat
  • Describe the transfer of energy between plants and animals using food chains, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024

Syllabus outcomes and content Stage 3

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus (2024)

Visual Arts

Outcomes

  • makes artworks in intentional ways to represent ideas about their world, and explains ways artists are influenced by contexts and how artworks are interpreted by audiences CA3-VIS-01

Content

Making: Artists represent their world in intentional ways through their artmaking practice

  • Represent ideas or perspectives of their world and intentions in own artmaking practice
  • Use drawing materials and techniques to create artistic effects to represent subject matter or ideas in intentional ways
  • Create intentional effects with awareness of the relationships between colours and tones, to represent subject matter or ideas in realistic, imaginative or symbolic ways
  • Use painting materials, techniques and processes to explore ways to apply paint in combination with mixed media materials
  • Apply understandings of materials, digital technologies and processes to represent intended ideas in artworks
  • Explore artistic conventions and ways to represent subject matter and ideas in compositions
  • Demonstrate safe artmaking practices with respect for physical, social, digital and cultural safety

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2024) - Stage 3

Knowledge of our world and beyond inspires sustainable solutions

Outcomes

  • Uses evidence to explain how scientific knowledge can be used to develop sustainable practices ST3-SCI-01
  • Interprets data to support explanations and arguments ST3-DAT-01

Content

Living things may change over millions of years, in response to their environments

  • Observe behavioural and structural adaptations of plants and animals, and suggest how these may help them survive in their environments

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2024

Location

Boardwalk and bushland setting in Field of Mars Reserve, the main location for the Augmented Reality Studio HPGE enrichment program.

Field of Mars Reserve

Main location

Find risk assessment information, risk management advice, bus access details and walking track information for Field of Mars Reserve.

Teachers or parents will need to drop off and pick up students.

Westminster Road entrance to Field of Mars Reserve, alternate access point used during severe high tides or heavy rainfall when the main entrance is flooded

Westminster Road

Alternative entrance

This entrance or exit offers access during severe high tides and heavy rainfall events that cause flooding on the main Pittwater Road entrance.

Designed for curious and creative students, this immersive workshop combines fieldwork, scientific observation, digital drawing and augmented reality. Students slow down, observe tiny animals closely and learn how digital tools can be used to communicate science in engaging ways.

Learn with us

Book now button linking to Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre HPGE program bookings.

Book now

Book your HPGE program using our online booking form.

Learning resources tile linking to digital materials that support Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre programs.

Learning resources

View online lessons that support primary incursion and excursion programs.

Flora and fauna fact sheets tile linking to native plants, animals, ecosystems and environments that support Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre programs.

Flora and fauna fact sheets

View our curriculum-aligned fact sheets on Australian animals, plants, ecosystems and environments for NSW primary and secondary students, ideal for research, projects and classroom learning.