Creativity, strategy and teamwork were in abundance at the 2025 Physics in Flight and drone competition workshop hosted by Toolooa State High School today.

Over 40 students from five local schools gathered for the workshop which focused on the physics of flight for primary students in the morning and an afternoon drone workshop and competition for secondary students, lead by the impressive Toolooa SHS Stem Squad in the afternoon.

The workshop was delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) in partnership with ConocoPhillips, the downstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG).

Katrina-Lee Jones, QRC Director of Skills, Education and Diversity said the workshop had been designed as a competition between the schools to give the students extra incentive to be innovative in the design of their paper planes and programming of their drones.

“The primary students will work in school teams to apply their understanding of aerodynamics and create planes to achieve the longest flights possible,” Ms Jones said.

“In the afternoon the competition will ramp up for the secondary students as they complete a series of drone flight challenges, developed by the Toolooa SHS STEM squad,’’ she said.

“The students will also discover how new drone technology is being used in exploration, safety, sustainability and production processes in the resources sector thanks to industry insights from the ConocoPhillips team.”

Stakeholder Relations Manager at ConocoPhillips Australia, Chantale Lane said Toolooa SHS STEM squad had designed a great sequence of drone challenges for the secondary students, reflecting real-life scenarios where drones might be applied in the industry.

“Today’s workshop and competition has given the students a better understanding of how physics and drone technology is being applied in our sector,” said Ms Lane.

“Emerging technologies are opening up new career opportunities for students in resources including roles such as automation engineers, data analysts and robotic technicians.”

Schools participating in the workshop:
• Primary: Gladstone West State School; Clinton State School.
• Secondary: Toolooa State High School; Calliope SHS, Clearview Christian College.

After a full day of creativity, concentration and competition the final school winners were: Gladstone West State School (primary) and Clearview Christian College (secondary).

Congratulations to all students who participated and to the Toolooa SHS STEM Squad for developing the challenges.