Congratulations to STEM Catalyst

Congratulations to STEM Catalyst https://stemcatalyst.com.au/ at the Faulkner Neighbourhood House for delivering a great workshop to 18 children and families.

This session looked at what is Biodiversity, what is the importance of Biodiversity and what life participants might expect to find in their backyards. This was complimented by a learning to code with microbits session. The coded microbit then was used a digital counter to record the number of species sighted.  The outdoor component included participants exploring the habitat and were divided into two groups, Flora and Fauna with an aim to find as much diversity as possible under a set time.

Participants recorded 23 different floral species and 18 different species of fauna in a 4/6 square meters of the Faulkner Neighbourhood House backyard. Facilitators encouraged the use of Citizen Science apps such as Iseek and INat for species identification.  Along with coded Microbits each participant was given a prop/ equipment such as Insect observation kits, LED magnifying glasses, a pair of tweezers and insect handling jars.

Congratulations to Arjumand Khan and her group STEM Catalyst for building their communities own capacity to deliver science and technology content themselves in partnership with their local Neighbourhood House.

Watch the event video here.