Wednesday 17 February 2016

Hunter Students get a Taste of Space

Regional Development Australia's ME Program has partnered with West Wallsend High School to increase children's excitement and involvement in STEM.
Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, July 21, 1969

The Quberider Workshop teaches teachers electronic and programming skills, which give students a taste of what astronauts do.

Students are encouraged to learn skills such as coding and electronic design, to physics and maths, while simulating experiments also conducted on real space missions

"This program is very much about being real world and actually being involved in programs that NASA would be involved in" said RDA Hunter's ME Program Director, Dr. Scott Sleap.

The program is said to give students the tools they need to launch into a STEM career and be competitive in the global market.

"What we have is a workforce that is going to require STEM skills in the future, and actually, in the now" said Dr. Sleap.

"If students don't develop the type of skills we're talking about in STEM, then they're going to be locked out of the workforce."

The program has seen considerable success in the Hunter, with over 30 schools now signed up to and actively involved in STEM, with up to 70 across NSW.

"The Hunter regions actually becoming one of the leaders in STEM education in NSW and even possibly Australia" said Dr. Sleap.