Naomi Paul

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Scienceworks gets five stars

June 19th 2008 13:02

Rainy weekend coming up in Melbourne ... here's a favourite option ...

Scienceworks is an indoor "outing" that is really reasonable. In fact, free for kids under 12. My two (Grade 1 and Grade 3) absolutely love it. We've only been living in Melbourne for six months and they've been to Scienceworks five times already!

Everything is hands-on in this house

What to pay
If your kids are aged under 12, they are free. So you'll only pay $6 each for the adults. If it's your first visit, don't worry about buying any tickets for the extra shows or exhibits. There's hours of stuff to keep them occupied in the free exhibits.

Are you being served?
Upstairs there's an absolutely awesome kitchen set-up where kids just buzz around creating all kinds of culinary delights. Take a book and prepare to be served plastic sandwiches, lovingly assembled, and multiple cups of coffee.

Hands-on fun
The sportsworks exhibit downstairs gives them a workout without even noticing -- they can race Cathy Freeman and practice shooting hoops.

The House Secrets exhibit is fascinating -- a supersized bed where you can peer into what lies beneath the mattress. Ok, my kids were a bit freaked out by that! But they quickly got over that by moving on to attempt to pedal-power the toaster.

Opening hours
Open every day from 10am 4:30pm (except for Christmas Day and Good Friday).

Getting there
You can get there via public transport -- however, if it's raining, you'll get a bit damp and cold. And it can be a bit of a drag waiting around on the station without much shelter. Driving there is easiest, parking is free and pretty plentiful. To go via public transport, catch the train to spotswood and then it's clearly signposted to walk about 5-8 mins to Scienceworks. (Click here for connex's journey planner).

You can bring your own food and drinks. Or there's a cafe there too. It's a little bit on the pricey side but had plenty of healthy options plus the usual hot chips, icecreams etc. I thought the coffee was average tasting -- not worth the three bucks. Service was friendly though

Acknowledgements
Photo is by Robert Blackburn, Paoli Smith from Scienceworks site. Check it out for latest exhibit info, maps and directions.

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Hold that joke!

June 17th 2008 12:44

Conventional wisdom is that great presentations should start with a joke. In fact, that can be the toughest start for you -- and your audience.

A Harvard Business Review Article, "Five Winning Ways to Begin a Presentation", cautions against starting with humour. The article is ten years old now, but that point has stayed with me.

The #1 tip I still recall from this article, ten years on

Three main reasons not to start with a joke:
1. Even the highest paid comedians will have a significant percentage of their jokes fall flat on a given gig. So why would we amateurs attempt it in that all important first 30 seconds?
2. Jokes often take a while to process. When you're speaking, a pause in the response from the audience feels ten times as long. So, even if they do laugh, it's often very half-hearted and delayed. Meanwhile, your confidence has plummetted.
3. Most jokes are exclusionary. (Ever played that party game where you try to think of a joke that wouldn't offend anyone). And rule #1 of presenting is to win your audience over from the start, not get them offside.

Start with a story instead
A good alternative is to tell a story. Perhaps a story about how you became interested in this subject. Just last month, I saw a presenter hook his audience at 3.30pm on a long Friday afternoon. What was his topic -- occupational health and safety? Yep, we were all ready to flip open our laptops and surrepticiously check email. But he started with a story. He described how, as a young employee, he'd driven out to a job in the country and been asked to spray with agricultural chemicals. He read the label and found out about the dangers of using that product without a mask. When he asked for protective equipment, he was told to leave. Now he works for a major coroporation in OH&S. He told us -- I care about this topic, because basically it saves lives, and that life could be your's or mine. This is someone who, from a young age, had the courage of his convictions. So, yep, we sat up and listened for the full 30 minute presentation.

Image is from Harvard Business Review article archives.

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Travel all Saturday for $2.90

June 17th 2008 07:31

I like Metlink's new 5 x weekend daily.

For $14.50 per ticket, you get all day travel for five Saturdays or Sundays.

Travel all day on any public transport in Melbourne

Downside is you are paying upfront. So, at first you're paying out at least $29 for an adult and a child.

Upside is that you get a cheap fare on Saturday as well as Sunday.

See Metlink's fares page for latest prices and options.

Acknowledgements
Photograph is public domain, from wikipedia article on Melbourne D Class Trams.

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Can you get cheaper fun with kids?

June 16th 2008 07:29

Okay, here's the cheapest fun I've found so far. An afternoon at Caulfield Park.

There are two great play areas. The largest play area appeals to kids right up to primary school. I've kept a seven year old and nine year old happy there for several hours at a time

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We were enchanted!

June 15th 2008 00:11

Arthur's Seat mazes is the favourite destination for our kids so far, after six months in Melbourne. It's less than an hour out of Melbourne -- on the Mornington Peninsula.

Immediately, stepping out of the car, I loved the smell of wet grass and the sweeping view down the hill

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Daytrips around Melbourne with Kids

June 14th 2008 23:33

I have a six year old and a nine year old. This blog shares some of the excursions we're having in and around Melbourne - our aim is to keep them as low cost, yet fun, as possible!

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China and your strategy

June 14th 2008 14:50

The Economist is a goldmine for facts and examples that you can use to start a speech. Numbers are powerful when you make a clear link to your audience.

For example, many business strategists are having to argue hard for the speed of change needed within their company's traditional management systems and investment models. One spotlight you can employ is historical perspective. Here's a way to use a recent story from The Economist

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Your deodorant and innovation

June 14th 2008 13:53

I drew the short straw. I was going to be the last person on the agenda of a long day of presentations. My allotted time was 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon. How was I going to get everyone to turn off their Blackberries and tune-in?

I had been chewing my nails trying to think of an interesting way to start a presentation. The training session was going to be about "Developing a questioning mindset". I was looking for examples of how a questioning mindset can create profits. My kids were leaping around, climbing the walls, begging to go on an excursion. Finally, I shut the computer and we headed out to Melbourne's Scienceworks

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Rainbows in Paris

June 14th 2008 13:10

Stories are the most powerful way to start a presentation. I've built a career out of helping speakers, managers, colleagues, find an interesting and relevant opening story.

One way to start? Your own life. Take a quick flick through your travel albums. What's an image that really stands-out -- preferably a place many people have been, or want to go. Immediately, you're building rapport and making them sit up and look more closely

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Comment by Naomi Paul
on Hold that joke!

June 19th 2008 12:27

That's a really interesting point. No matter how good a speaker you are, audience attention levels will wax and wane. You need to give them cues and re-entry points to tune back in. Umm and err might be a way of doing that. I've noticed that most professional speech coaches teach the power of the pause. Have you seen a great speaker, or classroom teacher, who after coming to the front of the room waits steadily for a short count. When the audience is quite still, then the speaker begins. Similarly, thoughtful pauses throughout the presentation give your audience "breathing space" and cue them to re-join you.

Comment by Naomi Paul
on Hold that joke!

June 18th 2008 11:23

Yeah, it's a pretty tall order to try to elicit a laugh in the first 30 seconds. I'm guessing that in more social situations -- weddings etc, people are more in the laughing frame of mind and you might get away with it. But in business situations, it's more likely to fall flat.

Comment by Naomi Paul
on Can you get cheaper fun with kids?

June 16th 2008 12:13

Thanks Katyzz. Remind me again -- what are the three main techniques for remembering a face?

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on Daytrips around Melbourne with Kids

June 16th 2008 06:52

Thanks for the encouragement Tyronne. You've inspired me to write the next posting about the cheapest entertainment I've found so far ... stay tuned

Comment by Naomi Paul
on Why do we remember words but still forget faces?

June 14th 2008 23:25

This reminds me of when I was away overnight, and I rang home. My daugher said "Mummy, I can't remember what you look like". Similarly, I couldn't remember her face either -- in my mind, I just saw the general outline and "shape" of her hair.

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on starting up with adsense

June 14th 2008 22:24