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There was more than a spark of interest shown by Year 9 students participating in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) workshop at Millmerran P-10 State School today.

The Beakers.Bots.Build workshop was delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) in partnership with Millmerran Power.

Millmerran SS principal, Jason Edmonstone, said the full-day program which involved working in groups through three different STEM challenges, had been invaluable for the students.

“The challenges, which had been developed to reflect activities in the energy and resources sector, like sorting coal, gave the students a real-world application to the concepts they had studied in the classroom,” said Mr Edmonstone.

Shane Burge the Plant Manager from Millmerran Power station said they were proud both sponsor and participate in today’s workshop.

“Millmerran Power Station plays a big role in this community and many of these students will have family members employed at the station,” Shane said.

“Today we got to delve a bit deeper into some of the activities which form a part of our operations and share information with the students about potential careers in the energy sector as well.”

QRC Director for Skills, Education and Diversity, Katrina-Lee Jones said the Beakers.Bots.Build workshop had been designed to challenge and stimulate the students’ scientific minds.

“The three group activities covered a range of concepts including light reflection, robotic programming for remote vehicles and machinery design,” said Ms Jones.

“I believe participating in this workshop will give the students a greater appreciation of the science behind some of the key activities involved in the production of energy, at operations like Millmerran Power station,” she said.

Students interested in knowing more about the different roles involved in power production, and the stories of young people starting their career in the sector, are encouraged to visit the shapeyourfuture.com.au website.