STEAM Dreaming in Armidale was an outstanding opportunity – jam packed with fun and information to better understand the Indigenous culture and their traditions.
Hearing stories about the land and early Aborigines was an awesome twist on perspective. The morals and wisdom shared from special speakers as very moving and made everyone attending look at themselves and each other differently and a much more positive and motivated manner.
The Destination Imagination Kids Day workshop was a blast. Children aged 4 to 14 were engaged in a variety of activities that catered for different interests and talents.
Model plane simulators were in abundance and readily available for use at any free moment. Most kids would play for 5 minutes and resort to experimenting with how many pieces they can turn the plane into. Team building and leadership activities were an exciting and icebreaking STEM engagement where teams of mixed age were competing to get two astronauts as far away from each other. Of course, being a typical Destination Imagination challenge, there are physical constraints as well as timeframes to add a level of intensity and pressure. This rapidly builds teamwork and friendships.
Drone demonstrations were held outside, showing the capability and uses for specific drones such as a photography drone and a performance drone that can reach 180 km/hr in under a second. Children were allocated time to fly micro drones inside under a professional pilot’s instruction. This allowed for quick progression of skills and getting the most out of the opportunity.
The entirety of the even was exciting and informative. It was an amazing step in changing mindsets on Indigenous culture and methods. It was engaging kids in STEM and robotics at a fun and introductory level.
Thanks to Doug Forster, Ambassador Katie F, Ambassador Dom, Ambassador Nicola, Ambassador Coco, Ambassador Josh, Rowan and her family and everyone involved.
