A place to belong: Nina’s Scitech journey

For 16-year-old Nina, Scitech has been part of her home school education since she was just three years old.

“Scitech is a very special place for us home-educated students,” Nina said. “Throughout my childhood and into my early teens together with my brother, we explored every exhibition with our home school friends and participated in nearly every workshop the Scitech Lab had to offer.”

In 2023, Nina took her involvement a step further by joining Scitech’s Test Pilots program. As part of this children’s reference group, Nina worked alongside other young people to test Scitech experiences and provide feedback on exhibit prototypes, science show concepts, and digital content such as podcasts and videos.

“Having benefited immensely from Scitech’s events throughout my education, participating in Test Pilots is a meaningful way to support the next generation of young learners,” said Nina. “I love collaborating with other budding STEM enthusiasts to see our ideas manifest!”

That sense of confidence and collaboration carried into Nina’s work outside the program as well. While preparing to compete in the FIRST LEGO League Challenge, Nina and her teammates presented their maritime archaeology project to visitors at a Scitech Home School Day.

Held twice a year, Scitech’s Home School Days are specially designed for homeschooling families and feature hands-on programs. For Nina and her team, The Prime Optimisers, the day was a valuable opportunity to practice communicating their FIRST LEGO League Challenge solution to a real audience.

“Following the presentation, we were met with an enthusiastic group of students and adults who engaged with us with insightful questions about our project and also the FIRST LEGO League Challenge,” said Nina. “Their encouraging feedback made the morning an invaluable opportunity for our personal and also collective growth as a team!”

The Prime Optimisers went on to win The Champion’s Award at the Forrestfield Regional, before competing alongside 52 top teams at the National Championships West. There they earned the Core Values Award for demonstrating the values of discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion and fun. Inspired by the experience and the team’s research, Nina aspires to study marine biology with a specialisation in maritime archaeology.

Nina’s story highlights how Scitech experiences support young people’s education journey, helping to foster confidence, capability and curiosity in science.

Nina participates in a Test Pilot activity