The Essington School, Darwin is hosting TESEP Professional Development Workshops on Wednesday 17 September 2025 from 9.00am to 3.00pm on the TESEP rock and critical minerals kits with integrated resources, Critical Minerals, Life, Fossils and the 5 Big Extinctions, Energy & the Energy Transition, and practical exercises like the geological time-tape.

Rock and Critical Minerals Kits

Introduction to the Rock and Critical Minerals Kits and the plate tectonics poster and integrated teaching (rock, mineral and big picture plate tectonics stories). This PD will include hands-on exercises and focus on Year 8.

Critical Minerals

What are critical minerals? This PD will explore critical minerals, how they are defined and mined, where there are used in industry and in our high tech lives. We will unpick some of the jargon, examine how many more minerals are used today in the past, and discuss the future of traditional minerals. We will also look at the number and volume of critical minerals required to enable the current energy transition, as well as how these minerals are sourced, recycled and processed. Critical minerals in Australia, the geopolitical risks to our supply chain, advances and challenges in recycling minerals, and current projects will also be discussed. PD uses the NEW Critical Minerals Kit, including mineral stories, plate tectonics, periodic table & rare elements. Years 9-12 with a Physics and Chemistry crossover.

Life, Fossils and the 5 Big Extinctions

This PD will look at the 5 big mass extinctions through geological time and what might have caused them-using fossils. We will look at the evolutionary niches that were created by some of these extinctions, including the rise of hominids. Episodes include: Introduction to Fossils, Evolution and Extinctions; Fossils and Astrobiology; Fossils and Plate Tectonics; Hominid Evolution; Economic Fossils; and Micro-fossils. Biology crossover. Years 5-6 and Years 7-12.

Energy & the Energy Transition

Energy has a transformational impact on the quality of human life. It impacts every facet of what we do and how we live making energy one of the most important issues of our time. We require nothing short of a complete transformation of how we produce, transport and consume energy. However, energy, the environment and the economy are intimately linked and the four pillars of energy security (i.e., affordability, availability, reliability and sustainability) must be maintained. Relevant to Years 9 to 12.

Cost:

attendee from Host School – $35 plus GST and booking fees.
attendee from another School / Institution – $50 plus GST and booking fees.

There are two payment methods (if required for attendees):

payment by credit card on registration
payment by direct deposit from invoice after the event (note, payment by credit card from invoice is not possible).

To register for this event:

click on the 'Register' button and follow the prompts
or scan the QR code below and follow the prompts
or go to https://collections.humanitix.com/tesep-pd-event, find this event and follow the prompts.

The school contact for this event is Madelein Breedt. Please go to the admin office to sign in and for directions to the meeting room.

By registering you accept TESEP's cancellation and refund policy (cancellations and refunds are available up to 2 days prior to the event, or a ticket may be transferred to a substitute teacher / colleague for this event, no refunds within 2 days prior to the event) and our Privacy Policy.

See our website for more details about TESEP www.tesep.org.au