Having previously designed their own cultural science workshop, four of our Indigenous Year 8 students travelled back to Adelaide recently for the 2024 STEM Aboriginal Learner Congress. Across a two-day event attended by over 1,000 people from 100 different South Australian schools, Jekoa Allen, Ryder Bilney, Naomi Wells and Shane Coaby successfully delivered their STEM workshop at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Our students told the story of the Barngarla practice of “Singing to the Sharks”, which was an important ritual that ceased with the last practitioner in the 1960’s. Men lined the cliffs of Eyre Peninsula bays and sang out chants while women danced on the beach. The purpose was to encourage the sharks and dolphins to bring in all the fish close to shore. The four PLHS students shared this rich heritage in their workshop, accompanied with a water xylophone activity that analysed how sound waves travel through water.
Participating students also had the opportunity to hear and learn from leading ATSI STEM educators and enjoyed sharing their own knowledge and history throughout.
~ Mr. Ben Henrichs (Accompanying Teacher)
