Santa Clara Year 5 student, Anaaddeep presented at the day and said:

‘I found the day magnificent as there was so much to do, and many opportunities at the stalls. Not only because we got to share our project and skills, but the other stalls were really well put together and I could see many of the schools had a great use of STEM in their projects also. One of the highlights of the day was the opening ceremony, as the guest speakers were very inspiring with their motivation to use STEM every day and have actually built careers on it.’

Asked about his project, Anaaddeep said:

‘Our project was to harness Earth’s renewable energy, and to then make it accessible to communities where it is not available. So, after following our design process we came up with a power bank that uses wind energy to power anything that can be powered through a USB cable. We also used circuits which gave us a good understanding of electrical energy.’

Anaaddeep also highlighted the importance of STEM saying:

‘In my opinion, it teaches children like me more than Science and Mathematics concepts. To me it focuses on hands on learning with a proper conceptual knowledge behind it. As one of the guest speakers said on the day, most jobs will disappear in the future that do not involve STEM. So, I think STEM is very important, as it opens up opportunities and could be your passion.’

STEM Education industry leaders in attendance at the Showcase included Maker’s Empire, Curtin University, Main Roads, Jobs and Skills Centre, and Westrac.

Attendees heard from Josh Muik, Chairperson for Perth STEM and Jan Cooper, former Female Football Development Manager.