Eastern Bay schools develop STEAM skills with support from Trust Horizon
L to R: Te Ahuru Forsyth and Charlie Lange from James Street School work on their AquaBot.
Students across the Eastern Bay are honing a new set of STEAM skills, as they take on the challenge of designing and building their very own AquaBots.
Trust Horizon has approved a $16,636 grant to support Kiwi non-profit, Ministry of Inspiration, to bring their NZ AquaBots programme to Eastern Bay schools.
So, what are AquaBots, exactly? “They’re underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles, designed to complete certain tasks,” explains Amy Cornelisen, Ministry of Inspiration’s Chief Inspiration Officer. “The driver stands on the pool deck, controlling the robot, while it’s in the water completing the task it’s been programmed to do.”
Founded in 2011, Ministry of Inspiration aims to promote equal access to STEAM education for all New Zealand children. While ‘STEM’ refers to education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, ‘STEAM’ widens the concept to include the arts. “The arts are ultimately where all innovation comes from,” says Cornelisen. “They’re a necessary part of STEAM’s interdisciplinary approach, where everyone works together and everyone’s contribution is valued.”
Through Ministry of Inspiration’s NZ AquaBots programme, students from all walks of life gain the opportunity to build STEAM skills, self-confidence, and exposure to a range of future career possibilities.
The programme begins with schools signing up for AquaBot kits. A Ministry of Inspiration expert then visits the school for a ‘build day’, where they show the teachers and students how to construct the bots. Students form teams, and can choose to build the standard bot, modify it, or engineer their own completely original AquaBot. Students also have the chance to take part in regional AquaBot competitions – with the top three teams qualifying for the national event.
This approach comes across in the AquaBots challenge, which sees every age group able to take part at any level. “Our goal is to make it easy and fun, and expose kids to the kinds of possibilities they might not have been exposed to before,” says Cornelisen. “With robotics skills, you could be a programmer, an electrician, a designer. You could build a career in any sort of business, in a huge range of industries.”
Trust Horizon’s funding will go towards facilitating build days for up to 10 schools and 50 teams. It also contributes to a ‘2 for 1’ offer on AquaBots kits, with priority given to schools such as Kura Kaupapa, decile 1 or 2, and those with high Māori enrolment.
“As technology continues to shape the way businesses work, STEAM skills will only become increasingly important to future career pathways,” says Merrin Stables, Trust Horizon trustee. “‘Work-ready Rangatahi’ is a key focus here at Trust Horizon, so Ministry of Inspiration and the NZ AquaBots programme align very closely with our vision and goals. We’re very pleased to be able to lend our support.”
Ministry of Inspiration has so far sent out 30 kits across the Eastern Bay. With a minimum of four students per team, that’s at least 120 local rangatahi taking part. “We’ve been working with AquaBots in the North Island since 2013, steadily expanding to more areas where kids need greater access to these kinds of programmes,” says Cornelisen. “With the Trust’s support we’ve been able to expand into the Eastern Bay of Plenty for the first time, and we’re so thrilled to be here.”
The regional AquaBot event – where teams solve underwater challenges with their robot – is open to the public. It will take place on 14th October at the Whakatane Aquatic Centre, running from approximately 10am to 4pm.
Read more about Trust Horizon’s projects in our posts here.
Watch some great snippets of the AquaBot event in this video!