As part of our Solving by Design inquiry unit, Year 6 students recently enjoyed an inspiring day of discovery, visiting two very different companies to see the design process in action.

Year 6 Day of Discovery and Arcade Expo

At the Yakult Factory in Dandenong, students experienced the new Marketing and Innovation Program. They toured the production line to watch millions of Yakult bottles being made and packaged each day, participated in a lively quiz, explored Australian advertising campaigns, and worked through a creative product innovation activity. This hands-on session gave the girls a fascinating look at how design, marketing, and customer needs all come together in the food and beverage industry. 

The visit to Trajan Scientific and Medical offered a very different, but equally valuable, perspective. Students learned how engineers and scientists collaborate to design and manufacture highly specialised scientific instruments used in health, environmental, and pharmaceutical research worldwide. Highlights included seeing advanced robotics and automation at work, and hearing about how ideas move from concept through to prototyping and large-scale production. 

Together, these experiences brought the Engineering Design Process to life, and back at school, the students became designers themselves! They worked through each stage of the Design Thinking process. They asked questions. They researched. They imagined possibilities. They planned their ideas. They created prototypes. They tested and improved every detail. With each step they were learning to think like engineers and innovators.

The excitement then built toward our Year 6 Arcade Expo. This was the moment to share their creations with the whole Junior School. Our hall transformed into a buzzing arcade filled with colour, teamwork and joyful chaos. Students queued eagerly for their turn to play a wide range of original arcade games. Some required skill. Some relied on creativity or quick reactions. All of them were clever, fun, and wonderfully unique. 

The Expo was more than an event; it was a celebration of imagination and persistence. It showed how capable the students are when they follow the Design Thinking process and trust their ideas. It was a joyful end to a project that stretched their thinking and let their creativity shine. 

Mr Damian Hoy
Year 6 Classroom Teacher

Year 4 Students Learn about Product Design

Throughout Term 3 our Year 4 students learned about how products go from an idea to something that customers are holding in their hands. Think about your favourite toy – that design was initially just someone’s idea. But how did it get made? Who was involved? How did the company decide how much to sell it for? These are all questions we explored. 

We then worked through the process of designing and creating our own products. We brainstormed our ideas, sketched a design, received feedback, created a shopping list within our budget, and worked as a team to create products that we thought the school community would like to buy. Each group created a stall name, logo, and slogan to be used in our advertisements. 

All of this work was on display at our Marvellous Market in October. Throughout the day we developed our service and money-handling skills, and through the generosity of our community, we raised over $1,016! Proceeds from the market went to Spine and Scoliosis Research Associates Australia.

Thank you to everyone who came to support our market!

Ms Alexandra Smith
Year 4 Classroom Teacher

Year 4 Student Quotes

"Everyone said yes to everything in my group. If they did not like something they would say, “Maybe not because of this...” or “Sure, but what if we changed it like this?” I’m really glad we did the Marvellous Market because it was so much fun!"
Aadhira Mugundhan

"Overall, we were successful! I really liked how it went, and it didn’t matter if we sold out - it was all money going to the same cause."
Eloise Ross

"I found that we worked really well as a group with making ideas, resolving problems, making a business and running a store. At the start we combined our ideas and made sure it was all fair."
Evie Walker

"What went well was when everyone was focused, calm and polite to our customers!"
Gracie Whitlam