Science on the Road: Scitech's Statewide Outreach in Action

Statewide is Scitech’s outreach program that delivers shows and workshops to regional and remote schools in Western Australia! Our names are Eleanor and Eliza, and we are science communicators who are lucky enough to be part of it. So come with us on our two-week tour to Katanning in the Great Southern region of Western Australia and find out what it's all about.

Western Australia map showing all the regional schools we visit

Katanning is a town with a population of 3700 people, about three and half hours' drive from Perth. This is relatively close by Western Australia’s standards. To paint a picture, the further places we travel can be up to 2000km from our Science Center (in these cases we freight our vehicles and fly to meet them there!). We see all the regional areas of the state on a 3 yearly cycle. Bags packed, truck checked, we hit the road listening to SZA and Taylor Swift. We settled into our little country motel, complete with a very friendly cat called Gizmo who likes to sleep in the shade with her legs up in the air (pictured). In our first week we went to 4 local schools, delivering 9 shows and 20 workshops. The smallest school was Tambellup Primary with 25 students in total! Schools like this are a personal favourite of ours, there's always a real sense of community and a cup of tea on offer.

Gizmo in her favorite position

One highlight of the Scitech culture is the team atmosphere on our tours. We’re encouraged to share meals and explore local sights together as a way to get the most out of the experience. This also means you get to know who else is a Swiftie (thankfully we’re on the same page about this one) and who doesn’t want to share your multigrain seed loaf bread.

Dining at the one and only Vietnamese Café and Pho in Katanning

Although our motel had a cute furry friend and comfy beds, it lacked cooking facilities, so we had to venture out when it came to meal times. For a small country town in regional Western Australia, Katanning has a surprisingly diverse range of food options. In the first week we’d tried the Malaysian fusion food truck, Vietnamese cafe (twice....it was really good), and classic Aussie chain restaurant cafe The Dome. On our weekend we set out to explore Katanning and the surrounding attractions. We jumped in the truck for a day trip to Bluff Knoll, the second highest peak in Western Australia. Prepared for a scenic nature trail, we quickly realised the track is basically a 2-hour vertical ascent. Was the view worth it? We’re still not sure, but check out the picture we got! After recovering from exhaustion, we spend our Sunday evening at Katanning's biggest attraction, the All-ages Playground. We were having the time of our lives until we were reminded of our age as the motion sickness kicked in. We finished the weekend (semi)rested and ready to go for week two.

Pretending our legs still work at the top of Bluff Knoll

Week two contained 4 more schools, lots more laughs and cute kids and of course, more Taylor Swift. A nice moment was meeting a year 6 from Katanning Primary School who was coming to Perth for his birthday the following week. After seeing the science show, he had us write out directions and show him photos of Scitech, so he knew exactly where to go to get there on his big day. It highlighted to us that touring isn’t just awesome for the staff, it’s impactful for the students we visit. We aim to make STEM something fun, exciting and relatable for kids, and I (Eliza) have firsthand experience of the effect this can have. Scitech came to my regional primary school (also in the Great Southern) and I still remember how amazed and excited I was, and lo and behold, I’m still spreading this passion for science today. It’s not just me, everywhere we went we met parents, community members and children bursting to tell us about their formative Scitech experiences. It is amazing how strong and long standing (we heard a parent telling her child that Scitech visited her when she was at school!) our impact is so far away from our Science Centre in Perth, and we  are proud to help make it happen.

Seconds before jumping off this ride at the All ages Playground

Maybe it’s a good time to mention, tour isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. In our two weeks away, we overcame a cracked windscreen that needed full replacement, the trials and tribulations of the common cold and broken show and workshop equipment. Luckily, we had each other, and it’s not every day you’re away for work with a true friend which we don’t take for granted. We drove back to Perth with our camera rolls full and smiles on our faces. Thank you for coming on this journey with us, we hope it’s given you an insight into what we do and why we love it so much!

Performing a show at Katanning Primary school