Girls In STEM

Each term, Emily, Jolie, Myka and I head off to the Ballarat Tech School to participate in the Girls in STEM program. On Wednesday the 7th and Thursday the 8th of June we had to complete a series of space themed tasks in groups of three, in order to gain points.

Day one consisted of communication challenges, problem solving, coding and identifying metals by burning them. Day two involved a tour of the new building in the school which then led to us using mathematics, thinking and observation skills to escape the “alien invasion”. That day we also used coding to race our way through a difficult course and retrieve information. The final task was to decipher codes given to us by the aliens so that we could rescue one of our team members. At the end of the two days, a prize was given to the groups who had earned the most points. The prize was a trip to VSSEC in Melbourne for their ‘Mission to Mars’ on August 29th. The mission to Mars program includes getting to dress up in a flight suit and working together in a simulation of life on Mars. I was lucky enough to be one of those chosen to attend and, due to a late withdrawal from another school, Jolie will be attending as well. 

- by Lily Peacock