Children at Dunwich State School are exposed to "real life" science as a result of a partnership between the school and the University of Queensland's Moreton Bay Research Station.
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The Mad Science Club enables students to participate in scientific demonstrations and activities after school.
Dr Kathy Townsend, a scientist with the research station, runs the program with the school.
"I want to make science fun for the kids, especially when the number of children enrolling in science and maths-based subjects is decreasing steadily," Kathy said.
Kathy's involvement also enables the learners to see and interact with a real, living scientist and to learn about what it means to work in the field of science.
Kathy said older children acted as mentors for the younger ones, walking them through demonstrations during a second session of the club.
Dunwich State School science co-ordinator Nicole Van Leeuwen said there was a push federally for students to get into science, and this program was ensuring the students became self-motivated to do science.
"Kathy is a real asset to our school because she always has new and exciting experiments and has obtained resources, including coats and goggles, for the learners to get into the role of being a scientist," Nicole said.
"By the time these students get to high school I predict they will be ahead of other kids in science because their learnings as part of the club have been so intense."
Each week Kathy creates and distributes a comic strip using photographs from that week's demonstrations.
"This reinforces the learning in the class, and creates some excitement as the children look to see who appears in that week's comic strip," Kathy said.
