Maths in Surveying Excursion

Several of our Year 10 5.3 students recently attended an excursion on surveying.  We caught the train from Gosford to Concord West. After a short walk we arrived at Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay. Here we had numerous activities to complete using basic trigonometry and surveying tools.  We first measured the dimensions of the hedged garden which included the curved edge in the centre. We would later use this to map the garden using computer software. 

Our next activity was looking at the history of surveying and the tools used to measure distances. All the students were amazed at the size and weight of the portable calculators that surveyors had to carry in the field to do trigonometry calculations. 

The photo below shows the latest technology that can be used to take images that could be used to reproduce building facades or monuments that need to be replaced due to breakages. We had our photo taken using the 3D imager. The company who demonstrated this machine have used this technology to map ld buildings in Sydney and even used it on creating characters in movies such as Avatar!

We next went to use modern day surveying equipment to find the height of the main tower in the park. We had great fun lining up the sights with the top of the tower and using the readings to find the height of the tower. 

After lunch we had a demonstration of how a sundial works and how we can use it to do calculations relating to the Earth.  

We were also able to observe some anytime stars such as Sirius with the aid of a powerful telescope. This was an experience most people don't get to see! You could see the star clearly despite the bright sunlight. 

The day was an experience that our students don't often get the chance to do so it was great to see them using the equipment and learning about surveying. A big thank you to all the volunteers on the day for giving up their time to let our students experience the art of surveying.