WRL held its hugely popular Open Day on Saturday, October 25 - opening the Lab doors to the community, giving tours, talks and demonstrations of all things water and science.
On Saturday October 25, we welcomed over 700 visitors into our lab for our biennial WRL Open Day! We love sharing our workplace with our community, in particular the many children who were enthusiastic to explore our lab and get involved with our rainbow colour experiments and hidden letter quest, designed especially for our youngest explorers.
During the day, in amongst our permanent flumes and displays, we had interactive mini-flumes and hands-on experiments, encouraging all visitors to comprehend water processes using their hands to engage with the models. This is a great tool to promote STEM education, assist with understanding physics, and demonstrate complex water related processes in a visual way.
We were honoured to host Independent Member for Wakehurst , 91É«ÇéƬ Vice-Chancellor & President Prof Attila Brungs, 91É«ÇéƬ Faculty of Engineering Dean Prof Julien Epps and Civil and Environmental Engieering Head of School Prof Nasser Khalili – as well as several former staff members. All our visitors were encouraged to ask questions, with our staff and students keen to share their knowledge and introduce our guests to our unique workplace.
WRL Managing Director A/Prof Kristen Splinter said
"WRL has been in Manly Vale for over 60 years and this open day is a way for us to engage with our neighbours and show them what we work on to help solve some of Australia’s water challenges."
Prof Attila Brungs, Prof Julien Epps and Prof Nasser Khalili arriving at the 2025 WRL Open Day
Visitors looking at the display of armour units for the 2025 WRL Open Day
Visitors arriving for the 2025 WRL Open Day
Visitors at the prop wash display for the 2025 WRL Open Day
Visitors at the groundwater display for the 2025 WRL Open Day
Member for Wakehurst Michael Regan MP visiting the 2025 WRL Open Day
Visitors enjoying the selfie signs at the 2025 WRL Open Day