Mackay students learn about mechanics and machines in workshops
The science curious minds of Year 8 and 9 students have had a boost with two days of STEM workshops at St Patrick’s College and Whitsunday Anglican School.
Over 50 students from the secondary schools have spent two days participating in workshops investigating a range of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) concepts including physics, chemistry and robotic programming.
The workshops were delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council, in partnership with Thiess.
Whitsunday Anglican School principal, Mr Andrew Wheaton, said hosting the Heavy Hydraulics workshop in the new STEAM Centre at Whitsunday Anglican School on Thursday was a significant opportunity to develop those critical STEM skills for our region and nation.
He said the students were also excited to attend the Beakers, Bots & Build workshop at St Patrick’s College on Tuesday.
“Our Years 8 and 9 students have thrived during their two-day immersion into the world of STEM, where they were privileged to work alongside industry experts. These workshops provide further opportunities to enhance problem-solving skills, collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking – developing future skills that empower students to be confident in navigating a future world.
At Whitsunday Anglican School the ability to partner with industry experts is integral to allow our students to be mentored by leaders in their respective fields, as they too can aspire to lead in our industry and resource sectors,” said Mr Wheaton.
Rae O’Brien, Group Executive Australia East at Thiess said they were proud to be sponsoring workshops which give a real-world application to topics in the science curriculum.
“Physics might not be for everyone, but it becomes a lot more interesting when it is being applied to investigate how a piece of equipment works – like the hydraulic arm model in the Heavy Hydraulics workshop,” said Ms O’Brien.
“The students were really focused on the activity and our team enjoyed assisting them to work through the engineering design process of creating a chassis to support the hydraulic arm.”
Katrina-Lee Jones, QRC Director of Skills, Education and Diversity, said the workshops were beneficial to the industry as well as the students.
“The QMEA workshops have been designed to enhance the Australian science curriculum and create a connection to the resources industry for the students,” said Ms Jones.
“We want to demystify STEM and create an excitement about continuing to study these subjects in senior school and University,” she said.
“There are plenty of exciting professional roles for young people in our sector and the first step is made with subject selection at school – so our aim is to keep them interested in STEM so they will become our engineers, electricians or data technicians of the future.”
For more information on resources careers, visit: shapeyourfuture.com.au