National Science & Engineering Final

After students won the NT Science and Engineering Challenge they were invited to form a team with Darwin High School and head to the National STEM competition. 

In Week 4 nine of our students travelled to Canberra and Parliament House to take part in the National STEM Challenge organised by Newcastle University. The trip was a whirlwind adventure with numerous flights and quick stopovers around Canberra highlights. A Questacon experiment extravaganza occurred on our first night at the Shine Dome followed by a dinner with the other 250 competitors from around Australia. 

Day 2 saw an early security check at Parliament House followed by a day of science and engineering trials; from wind turbine and bulsar plane building to code breaking and the live-streamed bridge challenge. Our students combined with Darwin to take out 7th place - thankfully not last. 

We are thankful to Mr Elsley and Mr Newman for the original competition and Ms Tsai for organising the Canberra event. 

B are comments from a number of students and more photos.

"The trip was definitely worthwhile as even though we didn't win we still had an amazing time, and were able to represent the Northern Territory. it was amazing how much we fit in such a short amount of time, and if I get the chance again in Year 10 I would definitely go. My main highlights was seeing Parliament House, and the science conference at the Shine Dome."

~ Douglas Baney 

"The trip to Canberra was amazing and I'd definitely go again if I had the opportunity as it was an amazing experience. My highlight of the trip was going to the Shine Dome and seeing some epic science experiments and getting to meet new people, especially getting to meet some of our Darwin team as they were all so kind."

~ Andrew Noble

"My favourite part of the National Science and Engineering Challenge was the Job Juggle task where we had to schedule doctors work shifts. Outside of the challenge I enjoyed exploring Parliament House and watching Parliament in session."

~ Ella Aila

"On our Canberra Science and Engineering trip we represented St Philip’s at a national competition and we had so much fun, it challenged us all in different ways and an experience we will never forget. We explored Parliament House, got to see the Prime Minister speak in the House of Representatives and of course went shopping."

~ Lily Dodd

"For the National Science and Engineering final I really enjoyed working with Ella and Andrew on making a wind turbine, getting it to do different things and working together to solve the escape room.

Another highlight was watching Parliament in session and listening to the politicians debating during question time and having the opportunity to speak on ABC radio. I would strongly recommend this experience to others!

A huge thank you to Ms Tsai and Ms Egan for making this happen"

~ Hannah Lewis 

"Being able to compete at the National Science and Engineering Challenge against the best schools in Australia was a truly exciting experience and doing the iconic bridge task was definitely a highlight, as our questionable design far outperformed our expectations. Apart from the competition, we had many more great times, from winning an escape room, to watching Anthony Albanese in parliament, to loading up on Yo-Chi in Canberra Central, all making the trip undeniably worthwhile!"

~ April Cousins