Defence is championing STEM education through its support of Questacon's 'Engineering is Elementary' workshop program.
The hands-on professional development initiative will equip teachers across Australia with the skills and confidence to bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics into the classroom.
The program has engaged with more than 500 schools across Australia since its launch in 2023.
In-person and virtual workshops are delivered and designed to support educators' abilities to deliver STEM learning to their students.
In November 2025, Head Military Personnel Rear Admiral Tish van Stralen joined educators at one of the program's immersive workshops.
"Ensuring Australia has a highly educated STEM workforce is vital to Australia's national security and defence," Rear Admiral van Stralen said.
"Teachers are one of the most important parts of a student's education, and workshops like this provide teachers with the right training, resources and confidence to spark STEM curiosity in the next generation."
During the workshop, participants experienced one of the classroom activities firsthand.
Focusing on the engineering behind water filtration, participants were tasked with creating a device to separate different sized objects.
Through hands-on problem solving, collaboration and investigation, the activity encouraged students to think critically and creatively about the task, but also the implications of water filtration in the real world.
To create the device, participants were given a range of everyday items including paper cups, cardboard, string, tape and paper.
'Teachers are one of the most important parts of a student's education, and workshops like this provide teachers with the right training, resources and confidence to spark STEM curiosity in the next generation.'
For some, this meant creating a device that required shaking something similar to a container, causing objects inside to separate into different compartments. Others focused on ramp-like devices where large objects rolled to the end, with smaller items falling through gaps along its length.
One of the participants at the workshop, who had attended several events previously, spoke about the benefits of the program.
"Where I teach, we don't necessarily have the time and resources to create and run an activity from scratch, so opportunities like this are really great in seeing how we can teach STEM in a fun and versatile way," they said.
Along with providing educators a hands-on opportunity with the activity before bringing it into their own classrooms, teachers are also given a resource kit so they can immediately implement the workshop activity.
"If you get your students engaged with the activity, teaching the science becomes easy," they said.
"I've never had one of these activities flop."
As part of Defence's contribution, STEM professionals from the ADF attended workshops and spoke to participants about their careers.
Flight Lieutenant Jessie Cowen, who attended the November workshop, spoke about the importance of educators in her own journey of becoming an engineer.
"As a young person growing up, you can often put yourself in a box, telling yourself that that you're not meant to do that - teachers are important in helping you break down those barriers," she said.
"I wouldn't be where I'm at without the encouragement and support of my teachers."
For more information on 'Engineering is Elementary' and how your school or community can register its interest, visit Questacon's website.
