Drones, VR and robotics: Marble Bar Primary School’s culture-focused STEM program wins prestigious award

Marble Bar Primary School has been recognised for its outstanding STEM program in the 2021 Governor’s School STEM awards. The school was awarded a Meritorious Leadership Award for encouraging students to engage in the global world while practising the core values of the local Nyamal community. The only regional school to be recognised in the awards, Marble Bar Primary School’s STEM program embraces technology by incorporating drone aviation, virtual reality, LEGO and robotics into the curriculum. The school also uses the cultural skills and aspirations imparted by Aboriginal elders and strategically aligns them to STEM capabilities, including creativity, cultural intelligence, problem-solving and teamwork. Principal Shane Wilson said it had been “an extraordinary year” for the school. “It’s surreal for me to comprehend the magnitude of this award for our small school community. The power of culture, two-way science and technology,” he said. Marble Bar Primary School’s STEM program also includes an on-country STEM garden which was established in partnership with the EON Foundation over the last six years. EON works with 24 remote communities in WA and NT, establishing edible gardens in schools with the mission of reducing preventable and chronic disease caused by poor nutrition. The edible garden has improved access to fresh fruit and vegetables for the whole Marble Bar community, as well as being an educational resource for students by incorporating the science of food, nutrition and gardening into the curriculum. EON Foundation founder, Caroline de Mori said she was “so happy” for the recognition the school has achieved. Ms de Mori made particular mention of one member of her team who has worked extensively on the Marble Bar Primary School garden. “We have a fantastic community assistant Stephen Mason who worked with us at Marble Bar Primary School and has stayed on and continued the work after the initial five years of the project,” she said. “He has been a star, everyone loves him and he has helped encourage the community to get involved so much so that nobody wanted him to leave, and he didn’t want to either.” The awards ceremony was hosted by WA Governor Kim Beazley, who mentioned the efforts of the teaching teams behind the winning programs. “The school leadership teams recognised as part of this year’s awards have developed strong STEM education initiatives, which engage students and support outcomes critical to Western Australia’s technological future,” he said. Marble Bar Primary School is also in the running for a CSIRO Indigenous STEM award which is expected to be announced on December 16.