Students from the city to the bay were put through their critical thinking paces recently when they got together to come up with programming and design solutions for mining operations.

Girls from St Rita’s travelled to Wavell State High School for a Beakers.Bots.Build workshop run by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

The students designed perforated well casings used in gas extraction and compared designs for efficiency. They programmed Lego robotic ‘haul trucks’ to pick up and deliver coal before competing in teams to build a coal sorter.

“Beakers.bots.build encourages students to use their critical thinking skills to come up with solutions to complex real-world  problems,” said Wavell State High School Principal Jeff Major.

“It’s a great way for them to learn the practical application of their science technology engineering and maths (STEM) studies,” he said.

Katrina-Lee Jones, Director of Skills Education and Diversity with the Queensland Resources Council said it was pleasing to see so many girls taking part in the workshop.

“STEM is the way of the future, particularly in our resources sector, so it’s important for all students to continue with their STEM subjects at school,” she said.