STUDENTS FLY AHEAD

A GROUP of Year 9 students at Thuringowa State High School are learning how to rear medicinal maggots as part of a Queensland Virtual STEM Academy course.

Over the past 10 weeks, medicinal maggot production and maggot therapy solutions for conflict-affected communities and other compromised healthcare settings was the science, technology, engineering and mathematics challenge solved by six Year 9 students.

The group designed and built their own medicinal maggot rearing cage.

They studied medicinal fly biology and the requirements for fly keeping and medicinal maggot production, to then construct the cage to optimise maggot growth.

Thuringowa State High School deputy principal for Global Tropics Wendy Bode is very proud of the effort the students have put into this project delivered by the Queensland Virtual STEM Academy.

“They have learnt about basic medicinal fly biology and the requirements for fly keeping and medicinal maggot production,” said Mrs Bode.

“They had to come up with new ideas as to how medicinal maggots can be produced in conflict-affected communities with very basic resources. The students will monitor the flies and maggots and make adjustments to their cage design.”

Mrs Bode said collaboration, critical thinking and creativity skills were developed to solve this authentic global STEM problem.

During National Science Week, the students will present their project at a Queensland-wide event.

BROCK MACDONALD, YEAR 6 HERMIT PARK STATE SCHOOL