BrainSTEM Games
BSC Students wowed the Judges of the BrainSTEM games!
Matthew Lynch
Teacher - Humanities
Earlier this term, Inez Bellun, Georgia Hatton, Zoe Keramaris, Aoife Martin and Liv Talko were judged to have delivered one of the top three presentations in Victoria in the BrainSTEM Games.
The BrainSTEM Games is a program offered to female students in Years 9 & 10 and is designed to:
- encourage practical skills, creativity and entrepreneurial thinking in high-school students, through the delivery of hands-on STEM-related events and activities
- use gamification and mentoring to inspire students to pursue STEM disciplines in their study and work
- make a positive and ongoing impact on girls under 18 years of age, particularly those from historically under-represented groups
The Program
The program consisted of a Kickstarter Day hosted by Sid Verma (CEO of BrainSTEM) at the Australian Computer Society at the Docklands. On this day the BSC students met their mentor, Dr Lizzie Thomas from the Department of Psychiatry at Monash University.
Students then participated in a Design Thinking workshop which involved several engaging activities including the construction of Lego to demonstrate achievement of a UN Sustainable Development Goal.
Throughout Term 2, Liv , Georgia , Inez , Aoife and Zoe met with their mentor online on a weekly basis. Over this time they decided on a project, agreed on their vision and recorded their planning, research and development of the project using the software Mural. You can see an example of how they used this software for planning, shown in this illustration (click on the photo to enlarge it).
The Presentation
On Monday the 17th of June, the team was required to present their project to a panel made up of Science professionals from the Royal Society of Victoria who were to judge their efforts.
The BSC team were professional and confident as they explained their project - a project focused on innovating the creation of paper from household waste.
The parents and carers that attended the presentation along with myself were very proud of the team's confident performance.
The judging panel were also very impressed by the BSC team; theirs was the only team to produce a tangible physical product/outcome that the judges could hold, inspect and consider.
The judges discussed the team's submission, giving the students feedback and constructive criticism. After this their mentor, Lizzie Thomas, presented the team with a certificate, Lego and a year-long membership to the Royal Society of Victoria.
Out of the nine Victorian teams competing, Brunswick Secondary College was judged to be in the top three, which qualified them for the National BrainSTEM Games final.
The National Final
With only a few days to prepare, the team acknowledged the judges’ feedback, and implemented their advice to make improvements to their presentation.
The national final was conducted via Zoom platform on Friday June 21.
This time our team was up against the best schools in NSW and Queensland as well as the other teams from Victoria. This presentation was judged by some very renowned and accomplished women in the Australian S.T.E.M community including: Dr Rosemary Herbert (Monash University), Dr Cynthia Gusman-Nolan (Australian Computer Society), Dr Shruti Nirantar (RMIT University), Shelley Laslett (Vitae Coach) and Susi Seibt (CSL and 3RRR).
The standard of all the presentations was exceptional, and the Brunswick Secondary College team did not manage to finish in the top two - however, they were awarded the Judges Prize for Prototyping and Creativity.
Therefore, out of the twenty seven groups that participated, the BSC Team were one of only three teams in Australia that were awarded a prize.
The students will be attend an official ceremony in Term 3 to celebrate their achievement.
Congratulations to Liv , Georgia , Inez , Aoife and Zoe for delivering fabulous teamwork, Brunswick Spirit and exciting innovation!
Zoe Keramaris
Year 10
Over the 12 weeks of the BrainSTEM games I have challenged myself while having lots of fun. I have learned about paper waste and how that effects our planet, but I have also learned key skills that will help me in the future - such as how to conduct a proper research task and how to work in a group.
It was really cool visiting the Royal Society of Victoria and be able to present in front of a crowd. It was even better that we made it to the finals! This whole experience has been great and I am looking forward to (hopefully) pursuing a career in STEM.
Aoife Martin
Year 10
The BrainStem Games were an amazing experience - me and my team got to brainstorm, design, and finally make a product that could change the world!
BrainStem is a program that is trying to get more girls into the STEM field, and I can say that the food at the kickstarter event made me want to stay until the end!
Our team came up with a process for creating paper made from food scraps, that will eventually solve global warming, paper waste, gender equality, and basically every problem you can think of!
It was so much fun collaborating with four other intelligent, hardworking girls - and we made it into the national final!