Workshops are a smart move
Morrison’s Academy hosted a special day themed around science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for hundreds of young people from across the region recently.
Carried out in partnership with the charity Smartstems, more than 300 children aged from 10 to 14 years old, and their families, turned out for the free event at the independent school’s Crieff campus.
The day featured a series of workshops, a STEM exhibition, speakers and lots of topical prizes.
Smartstems was created to inspire the next generation about the subjects through collaboration between industries and the education sector.
The Glasgow-based charity works with schools across the country to ensure every child has equal and fair access to STEM education and its many career opportunities.
The interactive workshops were led by leading figures from the world of STEM and Morrison’s Academy teachers.
A mix of local businesses and national organisations were also on hand to showcase STEM within their industries.
Organisations included Police Scotland, SSEN Transmissions, Falcon Foodservice Equipment, Infinity Blu Dental, Seric, Merlin ERD, Count Accountancy, One Stop, Scot JCB, Keyline and many more.
Guest speaker Kirsty Kakanskas, a continuous improvement officer at pharmaceutical giant GSK, shared the story of her experiences of the sector as a young woman.
STEM goodies were awarded at a grand finale during which the audience heard from Morris Fowler, a product design engineer at Falcon Foodservice Equipment, Morrison’s rector Andrew Mcgarva and Smartstems’ CEO Stuart Macdonald.
Pamela Boal, digital director at Morrison’s Academy, said: “Our objective was to create an event that would inform, engage and inspire young people – and I’m delighted that we achieved that and so much more.
“To see so many youngsters and their families come to our campus to learn more about STEM was absolutely fantastic.
“From delving into the world of virtual reality and exploring the forensics of a Harry Potterthemed mystery to coding a dancing robot – our hands-on workshops helped to open the door to this explosive subject.”
Mr Macdonald, who is also the co-founder of Smartstems, said: “We had a truly immersive and memorable day of STEM at Morrison’s Academy.
“Working collaboratively with their team, we were able to give young delegates across Perthshire a taste of the exciting opportunities available to them in this industry.
“This event is the perfect example of how much can be achieved when industry and education join forces to inspire and nurture our young people.”
Mr Mcgarva added: “We are delighted that our Smartstems event has provoked excitement, curiosity and a sense of community.
“With STEM being critically important to the UK’S future economic success, we fully recognise the value in providing robust STEM education to young people.
“STEM not only encourages critical thinking and innovation, it provides opportunities for teamwork, whether that be working together on a lab investigation or collaborating on an engineering challenge.”
Workshops included ‘Experience the Real World in Virtual Reality’ by Avantis Education; ‘Harry Potter Forensics’ by the Morrison’s Academy chemistry and biology departments; ‘Robotics and Engineering’ by the Royal Navy; ‘Prosthetics, Orthotics and Surgical Bone Graft to Help Civilian Landmine Survivors and Beyond’ by Professor Stuart Reid of Strathclyde University; ‘Molecular Gastronomy’ by the Morrison’s Academy home economics department; ‘Building New Futures’ by Balfour Beatty and a pupil-led workshop titled ‘Algorithms with Dash’.
The well-attended event took place at the school on Saturday, March 18.
• Pics: Malcolm Cochrane Photography.