The Kids Research Institute Australia will bring science to the Kimberley for a second year in 2024 after the Federal Government today announced a $20,000 grant for the Institute to deliver the Broome STEM Festival.
The Institute was one of range of recipients across Australia to share in $500,000 in grants to support National Science Week 2024.
The Kids held the inaugural Broome STEM Festival in 2023, and it was attended by more than 1200 children and their families from Broome and the surrounding areas, including 600 students from seven schools in the region.
Institute Deputy Executive Director, Professor Catherine Elliott, said the grant would enable The Kids to again take science to regional WA and inspire young people to consider a career in the field.
“Regional and indigenous Australians are two groups that have been historically under-represented in science,” Professor Elliott said. “While 36 per cent of Western Australians have a bachelor’s degrees, only 5.2 per cent of the Indigenous population does.
“By inspiring the community and showing them a career path to medical research and other sciences, we can hopefully increase the number of remote and indigenous students studying and working in science.”
The Kids has partnered with a number of local organisations to deliver the Festival this year, including sponsor IGO Limited, a clean energy company, and Horizon Power, which will both be exhibitors at the event.
The Kids researchers will host interactive displays relating to medical issues and science such as ear, lung and skin health and teach participants about bacteria.
Professor Elliott said The Kids had several health research projects taking place in the Kimberley to investigate and combat health issues faced by the indigenous communities like respiratory health, skin health and rheumatic heart disease.
“One of the key pillars to preventing these conditions is education. By educating the Broome community on the signs and symptoms to look out for as well as what to do if you experience the symptoms, we hope to reduce the instances in the community,” she said.
The Broome STEM Festival will be held from 7-8 August at the Broome Civic Centre. This year’s school theme for National Science Week ‘sustainable species’.