PLHS Represented at Aboriginal STEM Congress

Since 2017, the SA STEM Aboriginal Student Congress has become a highly significant event for our state’s Aboriginal secondary students. Designed by Aboriginal students, elders and academics, the annual two-day congress explores STEM connections to Aboriginal culture and inspires future STEM pathways for all Aboriginal learners. PLHS has again sent staff and students to this important opportunity.

What a lovely couple of days it has been in Adelaide at the STEM Congress for myself Miss Nicole Carter (ASETO), Ms Wanda Jarvis (AET) and two of our Year 10 students, Mia Speed and Laura Miskin. We have been involved in a number of different workshops across two days.

DAY 1:

• Workshop 1: CSER Digital Technologies and Maths in Schools Team – Both girls participated in a design challenge using virtual and augmented reality, getting the opportunity to design and create a 3D fishing net or trap (pictured)
• Workshop 2: Refraction: Bending Light to Your Will – We discovered how refraction makes light behave in strange ways, and how our ancestors dealt with it in their day-to-day activities
• Workshop 3: Elder Connect with Griefologist, Rosemary Wanganeen– Talking about ways and steps to deal with grief and loss for our young people

DAY 2:

• Workshop 1: Makers Empire 3D Entrepreneurs – We took on the role of software testers, exploring some new features in the Makers Empire 3D Design software (pictured)
• Workshop 2: Pigments from the Past – Students investigated how to create different colours using natural materials, learning which materials are needed to make the perfect mixture; we also looked at environmental factors that affect the availability of resources and why different materials are used in specific locations (pictured)

Congratulations to all involved on their positive participation.

~ Miss Nicole Carter (ASETO)