School fosters science love

Future scientists are blossoming at Hedland Senior High School as primary students participate in STEM workshops.

Hedland Senior High School has opened its classrooms to local Year 6 students to work with teachers and Year 7 students once a week to complete hands-on STEM projects.

The workshops are aiming to inspire a love of maths, science, technology and engineering in future students of the high school.

The high school STEM co-ordinator Cameron Pilapil said it’s important for young students to see maths and science as more than just “equations on the whiteboard”. “Often students get it in their head that they ‘hate maths’ or ‘hate physics’ because the only exposure they’ve had to these courses in the past is dry theory work,” he said.

“We’re hoping to change these attitudes by nurturing Year 6 and Year 7 students’ natural curiosity about how things work and showing them how STEM theory can be applied in practical, exciting ways.”

In the latest projects, focusing on civil engineering, students designed and built bridges, some of which withstood 20kg of weight.

Principal Kelly Summers said the after-school sessions were an important part of the high school’s STEM program, which was backed by a $250,000 three-year budget.