A new mobile workshop filled with tools and equipment is designed to spark interest and curiosity in STEMM with young people.
UNSW Engineering has been inspiring kids in rural schools and community centres across the Northern Territory after the launch of its new Makerbus.
The Makerbus is a converted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van kitted out with a range of high-tech equipment, designed to engage young people directly with engineering.
The concept is taking UNSW's Makerspaces – special workshops on campus filled with free tools and technology for students, staff and alumni to use – out onto the road.
The Makerbus can carry a range of tools and equipment, customised to suit the age and experience of the young children being visited. This can include 3D printers; small Raspberry Pi or Arduino computers for programming and coding projects; breadboards to build simple electronic circuits; and laser cutting machines to bring designs to reality.
Educators will be able to recommend what equipment is required, based on what they are currently teaching in the classroom.
The Makerbus last week visited Dripstone Middle School in Darwin where enthusiastic children were able to build their own mini-robots. This week it will travel to a youth and community centre in Alice Springs.
UNSW Makerspace manager Melinda Wimborne says the new mobile workshop is designed to give youngsters the chance to get hands-on with engineering.
"The aim is to get children in the schools we visit excited about engineering and broaden their scope, because a lot of them may not fully understand what engineering really is," she said.
"We can work with the schools to ensure the Makerbus is kitted out with the equipment that matches what is being taught in the curriculum. And we can quickly modify it with the relevant tools and technology.
"We can set up an electronics station for one school, and then adapt with a chemical engineering lab for the next, to show the children how you can make beauty products or shampoo or toothpaste.
"There is also a global project called Precious Plastic that a lot of schools are involved with, and we would be able to visit them with the Makerbus filled with machines and tools which grind, melt, and inject recycled plastic. We can showcase how to create new products out of recycled plastic."
Professor Julien Epps, Dean of Engineering at UNSW, said: "The Makerbus will bring engineering opportunities to eager young people who might not otherwise see themselves as engineers, and give them hands-on learning experiences.
"We're excited to be able to share engineering with children who may never have met an engineer before.
"We hope they will take the chance to create and build with high-tech equipment and tools, and spark a passion for making. Our aim is to empower young learners who can go on to make real-world impacts in the future.
"This initiative brings STEMM learning out of the textbooks and into school children's hands, transforming their education and making it interactive and exciting."
The Makerbus has also been in the Northern Territory as a support vehicle for UNSW's high-tech Sunswift racing car which is competing in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide
Sunswift is designed and built by students at UNSW and they will be able to utilise the equipment on the Makerbus should any repairs be needed over the 3,000km distance.
"The Makerbus has some capabilities on board that we would not ordinarily have," says Professor of Practice Richard Hopkins, the Sunswift Racing team principal.
"Having a mobile workshop if we need to do repairs, or change a wheel, is like having a guardian angel travelling the route of the race with us. The standard of work we'll be able to do will be much higher than if we were dealing with the elements in the middle of the desert."
