23 June 2021
State-of-the-art virtual reality, futuristic animatronics and dancing robots were among the awe-inspiring projects on display at this year’s STEM Enterprise Showcase, which was co-located at the Resources Technology Showcase.
Hundreds of West Australian public school students from across the State travelled to Perth to showcase the innovative ways they are learning science, technology, engineering and maths.
The Showcase is a component of the STEM Enterprise Schools initiative, which is delivered in partnership with the Department of Education and the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation to support the State STEM Skills Strategy.
Students and staff from 83 schools participated in the whirlwind two-day event held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in June. Over 90 schools also attended the event on school excursions, providing an opportunity for students to experience a range of ground-breaking technological innovations happening in and around our State.
The activation stations, set up as hands-on, contemporary STEM learning spaces, included robotics, virtual reality, animatronics, drones, dancing robots and On Country STEM. Student presentations from ‘The Cube’ were live-streamed to enable schools to participate who were unable to attend the event.
Jim Bell, Deputy Director General, Student Achievement said events like this provided students the opportunity to develop STEM and enterprise skills for the jobs of the future.
“The STEM Enterprise Showcase celebrated the incredible level of innovation and creativity in our public schools,” he said.
“Teachers and students demonstrated some exciting learning projects, from state-of-the-art virtual reality lessons to interesting discoveries on climate change.
“STEM education is a very rich area where students develop creativity, problem solving, teamwork and communication skills.
“These are all essential skills to make sure our young people are ready for the jobs of the future, even those we don’t know about yet,” Mr Bell said.