ANSTO's Discovery Centre offers school holiday fun

The site of Australia's only nuclear reactor will host more than a dozen school holiday workshops at its Discovery Centre from today until April 14.

ANSTO's Discovery Centre leader Rod Dowler said: "We've been running school holiday experiences in the ANSTO Discovery Centre for years, so we have the experience and expertise to know what engages students".

Mr Dowler said budding astronauts are among those in for a treat and will be asked to solve challenges in space exploration during a full-day workshop.

"If they choose to accept it, their top-secret mission will be to build a LEGO robot to complete several critical space mission challenges," Mr Dowler said.

"This is just one of a number of fun classes students are invited to attend at ANSTO's Discovery Centre these school holidays."

There is also a roller coaster workshop, where participants will learn about energy transformation while creating jump runs and loops to make the most thrilling roller coaster possible.

"We also have workshops on Artificial Intelligence (AI), where kids can learn how computers see and learn, and how that can be applied to real world problems like self-driving cars," Mr Dowler said.

"Or come and make a light and sound show at the electricity workshop.

"We'll teach our budding scientists how to use resistors, transformers, LEDs and capacitors - they'll even learn how to launch a flying saucer!"

Parents and carers can also accompany children on one of ANSTO's school holiday tours of the old HIFAR reactor, ANSTO's new chief executive Shaun Jenkinson said.

"Running across three days in April, visitors will be able to walk through Australia's first nuclear reactor, which was opened by Prime Minister Menzies in 1958," Mr Jenkinson said.

"For more than 50 years, HIFAR was used for world-first neutron research, and radioisotope and nuclear medicine production."

Details: For more information or to make a booking click here.