Today was the University of Sydney Alumni Festival, which Rodd registered us for some time ago. They had tours, exhibitions, talks, and events happening all over campus, and it would have been perfect if it hadn’t been drizzling and gray all day. We went over in the morning for a tour of the New Law School building, which opened 15 years ago.
We started down in the basement at the library, which is massive and connects to the nearby Fisher library.
I was especially eager to go into the light well, that bit you can see in the middle in the triangular opening. It’s a stunning space, but as our tour guide pointed out, you really see the challenge with “big glass box buildings” in Sydney: it has persistent leaks when it rains. They had several buckets out, and we saw a few different spots throughout the building where rain had gotten in and caused damage.
They also have a native garden that includes a grass tree, or “gadi.” I was especially interested in this one as we’re planning to put one in our back garden when the landscaping is finished.
From the second floor, we had a great view of the art installation featuring gadi on the exterior facade of the building. It was designed by First Nations artist Michael Jalaru Torres.
Our tour guide mentioned some of the more famous alumni from the law school, but admitted that they were mostly of the “old white guy” variety. We checked out a hall with many portraits, and we were all pleasantly surprised to see a woman of colour included: Professor Alice Tay, who certainly had an illustrious career.
Up on the top floor, there was an artwork about the human rights crises in Ukraine and Gaza. I was especially interested to see the artist’s use of traditional craft mediums like cross stitch and beading.
In the afternoon we went for a tour of the engineering buildings. I was really excited to see and learn about the award-winning rocket from the USYD student rocketry team.
My other favourite part was the Sydney Manufacturing Hub. We had a fascinating talk from one of the faculty about all the different forms of 3-D printing they do, including unusual materials like ceramic and stainless steel.
Our final activity for the day was a talk with Katherine Bennell-Pegg, who this year because the first qualified astronaut under the Australian flag, as well as the first female Australian astronaut. What an amazing and inspiring person! She told us how she’d always wanted to be an astronaut, and all the steps and challenges she overcame in achieving her goal. The audience loved it, and my favourite part was seeing how many young girls were excited to meet her and ask questions.
