Wagga student weighs career in STEM as epic challenge comes to town

About 400 students from 13 schools across Wagga and the wider region gathered for the event held over Monday and Tuesday.

The challenge addresses the national skills shortage in science and engineering by inspiring young people to study science, technology engineering and mathematics subjects in senior high school.

Holy Trinity Primary School Year 6 student Charlotte Doig had a great time attending Tuesday's Discovery Day where she took part in It's a trap, an innovative activity based off the Brewarrina Fish Traps.

In this activity students must build structures using 3D-printed rocks and sticks to catch specific types and amounts of fish - marbles of different sizes - as they swim along the river.

Charlotte and her classmates completed a number of fish trap scenarios during the activity and she said it was about not letting too many of the small or big marbles past the traps.

"We have to try and get most of the medium marbles, but not the big or little ones," she said.

Charlotte "really likes" STEM, because she enjoys taking on new challenges in areas like chemistry and science.

"It's been really fun doing all the new activities at the Discovery Day, which were about rocket science, chemistry and other things," she said.

"It's been really fun working with my friends too."

While Charlotte is still working out what she wants to pursue when she is grown up, she does have some idea.

"I don't really know yet, but I might want to do something that involves coding," she said.

Leading It's a trap was Joel Johnston, social performance principal at Inland Rail.

Mr Johnston said the activity is designed to make students think.

"It's about problem solving and looking at how to create barriers to stop flow-throughs," he said.

Mr Johnston noticed there has been "greater innovation" with the primary students.

"They see things from a different perspective than teenagers do," he said.

Mr Johnston said Inland Rail has partnered with the event to help invest in the community and encourage students to consider STEM and the careers it offers post-school.

"We're trying to create innovators and problem solvers here, because that's largely what the STEM career path is.

"It's all about innovation, sustainability and problem solving."

Mr Johnston said it was also about "futuring the industry to ensure the next generation is considering STEM careers which leads into construction, the rail industry and a whole of [other] careers".

Kooringal Rotary president Trevor Webb organised the event and said it's important to encourage STEM.

"Most schools support this program because of the STEM learning aspect of it," Mr Webb said.

He said the "hands on" program gives the event an edge to STEM learning that can't be provided in the classroom.

UNSW Science and Challenge team leader Ayden Day travels across the country running these events and recently wrapped up one in Griffith.

Mr Day said it's important to encourage students in STEM due to the national skills shortage.

"We try to travel to more rural and remote areas so we can engage with students who don't usually get these types of experiences," he said.

"They are getting a bit of an extrapolation of the different types of STEM fields and career paths available to them if they want to go and study them, or even to just pursue as a hobby."

Founded by the University of NSW in 2000, the Science and Engineering Challenge now reaches tens of thousands of students nationally every year.