However, Scitech recognises that some students face barriers to participating in a Scitech excursions such as the financial means or a lack of access to transport. Scitech’s School Access Program addresses this by providing support towards bus transportation and free entry to a Scitech excursion to selected Perth metropolitan primary schools which fall below the national average of the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA).
The School Access Program gave 982 students from 19 schools the opportunity to take part in a Scitech excursion in the 23-24 financial year. This included 177 students from four schools in the Midland and Armadale areas through support from METRONET, and 216 students from four schools in the Cockburn area through support from Total Marine Technology.
Midvale Primary School Science Teacher Sancia White used the School Access Program to bring her Year 2 students to Scitech.
“I was excited to take this opportunity for a school excursion to Scitech because as a teacher it was important to me that the children had fun but also realise that science is amazing,” she said. “We are a low socio-economic area and many of the children had never been to Scitech before. Especially for Year 2 students, it’s so important to engage them in science at a young age and they all said how much they had loved the day and how fun science can be. It can be difficult to provide these kinds of engagements in the classroom so for our school to be able to access this was truly outstanding.”
The School Access Program is an integral part of Scitech’s commitment to providing opportunities for those with barriers to access science and technology engagement and learning experiences. It is important for all Western Australian students to have access to science experiences, as those are key to students developing their 21st century skills and science and technology literacy which are becoming essential in any occupation as well as in daily life. Through engaging with our hands-on exhibits, one of our full-dome planetariums shows, a live science show and interacting with our expert science communicators, a Scitech excursion prompts students to be curious and ask questions, so they leave the day with a sense of excitement and enthusiasm to continue their discovery back at home and school. Memories from a Scitech excursion give students positive associations with STEM topics that can lead to them retaining what they learnt and a developing an ongoing interest in science long after their visit.
Scitech is a not-for-profit organisation proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation
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