3,2,1.....BLAST OFF! Hundreds of flying PET bottles will be colliding around the nation! CSIRO's Double Helix Science Club is celebrating its 10th Birthday by launching recyclable plastic PET bottle rockets which will propel the club into its second decade.

In Melbourne, Double Helix Education Officer Ivan Macciocca promises celebrations including rockets, crocodile-handling, possums and snakes.

"Media representatives are welcome to join more than three hundred Double Helix members and friends who will be enjoying a science bonanza," says Ivan. "Members will be celebrating all around Australia."

The celebrations will start at 4pm on 30 November, at CSIRO's Division of Building, Construction and Engineering, Graham Road, Highett.

World Champion Boomerang Thrower, Rob Kroll, will demonstrate the science of boomerang throwing, with members experiencing the thrill of a returning boomerang.

Since its inception in 1986, the Double Helix Science Club has sparked young peoples' interest in science by running events which are both fun and educational. Events have included making radio bugs, firewalking, digging for dinosaurs, sailing a Clipper and Dolphin Discovery Cruises. Australian school children have also taken part in nation-wide science experiments such as the Great Dung Beetle Crusade, the Termite Tally, and Earthworms Downunder.

For more information contact the CSIRO Science Education Centre: Ivan Macciocca
ph: 03 9252 6053 (BH) , 03 9848 8418 (AH)
mob: 0412 186 582
fax: 03 9252 6256

Janina Woodward Millikin
ph: 03 9252 6049 (BH), 03 9598 0502 (AH)
email: janinaw@netspace.net.au