Sandy Dann IV With Dr Luc From Curtin University On STEM Program With Wadjarri Students 160922

Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, arranged the reciprocal partnership through its STEM Professionals in Schools program. The partnership is supported by Curtin University including Head of the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences Professor Ian Fitzsimons, the WA Department of Education and the Pia Wadjarri Remote Community School, located about 330km north-east of Geraldton. Students have been in Perth learning about geology, radio astronomy, space exploration, meteorites, the planets and supercomputers, as well as visiting Scitech and Curtin’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies. Lead researcher Dr Luc Doucet, from Curtin University, said the program blended Indigenous cultural knowledge with scientific thinking and the Australian curriculum. “The Wajarri people are the custodians of the oldest rocks on Earth that are widely studied by Curtin scientists,” Dr Doucet said. “By working together, we are learning valuable knowledge from the traditional owners who have lived on this land for thousands of years while also hoping to ignite a passion for science among the next generation as the future geology, space and science workforce.”