National Volunteer Week is a time to recognise the incredible contribution of volunteers across Australia, and at In2science, we couldn’t let the week pass without celebrating the heart of our program — our dedicated volunteer mentors. This year, we brought together mentors from all four of our partner universities for an online STEM‑themed trivia night, created and hosted by the In2science team. For one evening, the team stepped away from their usual roles to become Quiz Masters, all the while encouraging a bit of friendly competition among the participants.
We kicked off with a quiz inspired by the wonderfully quirky Ig Nobel Prizes — awards that honour research that first makes you laugh, then makes you think. From unusual experiments to unexpected discoveries, mentors were challenged to identify the research findings of Ig Nobel prize winners from the last ten years. Congratulations to Annam, Deakin University mentor, who took out first place in this round! Next up was a puzzle designed by Deakin University Coordinator Tordy, where mentors had 15 minutes to decipher which famous scientists were represented by strings of emojis. This round proved to be the trickiest of the night, but La Trobe University mentor Sayuni rose to the challenge and claimed the win. To finish, the team presented a classic “What am I?” challenge, where participants used a series of clues to identify an object or item. This round sparked some of the most creative and entertaining guesses of the evening. Lenna, another La Trobe University mentor, came out on top — well done, Lenna!
In2science Program Director Dr Cory Smith said, “Trivia Night gave us an opportunity to thank our mentors for the amazing work they do for In2science, and it was fantastic to see such a good turnout with everyone having a great time – even if some of the questions were fiendishly tricky!” The In2science team would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who joined us at this event. We hope you had as much fun participating as we did creating the quizzes. Most importantly, thank you to all our incredible mentors. Your enthusiasm, generosity, and commitment make In2science possible, and we appreciate everything you do.
