St Philip's College, Alice Springs is hosting TESEP Professional Development Workshops on Thursday 11 September 2025 from 2.00 to 6.30pm on the TESEP rock and critical minerals kits with integrated resources, Seismology & Earthquakes of Your Region, Critical Minerals, geological time using the time tape activity, and Wet Rocks.

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.

Seismology & Earthquakes of Your Region

The Australian Seismometers in Schools Program started in ~2011 and now has installed over 50 research-grade seismometers across Australia. Seismometers measure seismic activity across the planet and help geoscientists determine the location, magnitude and depth of earthquakes, predict where earthquakes may occur, and map the internal structure of the Earth from tectonic plate boundaries to the core. This PD workshop uses actual Australian plate seismometer recordings from the Australian Seismometers in Schools Program, and the faults and geology of earthquake-prevalent regions are used as the basis for a refresher on earthquakes and the use of these regionally-located seismometers. Hands-on exercises demonstrate how to observe, interpret and measure data from seismometers in schools across the country, using actual earthquake recordings from the interaction of the Indo-Australian Plate with neighbouring plates in Asia, as well as with the Pacific Plate in places like New Zealand and Tonga. Local and regional geology including faults, mountain-ranges, old subduction zones and volcanic chains are used to illustrate why different parts of Australia and the planet are susceptible to earthquakes – with local examples to the host school. Relevant to Years 7 to 12, particularly Year 8 Geography and Earth and Space Sciences.

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.

Wet Rocks

This PD examines the importance of groundwater in the story of the hydrological cycle and its role in everything from Artesian Basins, hanging swamps, and sustainably. The PD also looks at some of the ecological impacts on the hanging swamps in the Blue Mountains in NSW. Relevant to Years 6 to 8 relevant with geography crossover.

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 Linda Tsai. 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