By Goya Dmytryshchak
Scienceworks at Spotswood has received
$6.25 million funding for two permanent exhibitions to prepare children, and especially girls, for a future in science and technology.
The first floor of the Booker Street museum will be converted into a $3.75 million exhibition for secondary school-age children, called Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen.
Opening next April, the immersive, out-of-body exhibition will reveal the invisible world of wave forms.
There will also be a $2.5 million exhibition called
Ground Up: Building Big Ideas, Together, teaching small children about STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects.
It will include a baby zone filled with stimulating sights, sounds and tactile experiences, while children up to age five will be able to build flying contraptions, make patterns and pictures with lights, and experiment with 3D puzzles. It will open in December.
Museums Victoria chief executive Lynley Marshall said Australia’s international ranking for achievement of students in maths and science had declined over the past decade.
She said girls were especially likely to exclude themselves from advanced maths, and women remained under-represented in STEM fields such as engineering and information technology.
“I’m particularly delighted with the way these facilities have been designed to welcome girls,” Ms Marshall said. “Research shows girls as young as four are already excluding themselves from science, technology, engineering and math careers.
Ground Up is going to be an environment that ensures they see themselves as future engineers, experimental scientists and innovators.”
Children and Families Minister Jenny Mikakos said the exhibitions would complement educational programs.
“These inspiring and empowering STEM experiences will help better prepare our children for tomorrow’s world and give them a head start for the jobs and opportunities of the future,” she said.
