New suite of STEM experiences at Vic Scienceworks

Museums Victoria has announced two new permanent exhibitions and a suite of parallel programs at Scienceworks to prepare the next generation for a world of science, technology, engineering and maths. Beyond Perception: Seeing the Unseen will open in April 2018.

Scienceworks will use a $6 million funding boost to open the exhibitions which will include a huge space that will allow teenagers to bend the fabric of spacetime.

The entire first floor of Scienceworks' Spotswood museum will be rebuilt into an exhibit showcasing advancements in gravitational waves, particle accelerators, aerodynamics and microscopic worlds.

 The new experiences include:

• $2.5 million STEM exhibition for babies to 5-year-olds focused on construction to introduce small children to real world skills in an unreal space
• $3.75 million immersive permanent exhibition for secondary school age and beyond, to engage young adults in science through revealing the invisible world of wave forms
• workshops, outreach programs and professional development resources to support formal and informal STEM education across Victoria.

Australia’s international ranking for achievement of students in maths and science has declined over the past 10 years. Girls, in particular, are excluding themselves from advanced maths and women remain dramatically underrepresented in STEM fields, with only 14% of engineers and only 25% of information technology professionals.

Museums Victoria has appointed 11 Scienceworks ambassadors – 10 of whom are women – to inspire the next generation, particularly young girls. They include a biological scientist, a construction engineer, a cognitive neuroscientist and a toxicologist.

Museums Victoria CEO Lynley Marshall said, “This is a new era for Scienceworks, enabling us to provide creative, stimulating environments that prepare the next generation for the technology and science challenges of the future. From the earliest age, children will be empowered by a belief in their own capacity.

“Beyond Perception will re-engage teenagers and give them the chance to really own the science space.”