Scientists from Charles Sturt University (CSU) will be back in the classroom this week at Mount Austin High School in Wagga Wagga as part of a national initiative to engage Indigenous children in science.

 

It is part of the University's ongoing involvement in the National Indigenous Science Education Program (NISEP) which aims to improve science literacy in rural and regional communities with high Indigenous populations.

 

Associate Professor Paul Prenzler from the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences at CSU said, "A grant from the Australian Government's Inspiring Australia strategy allowed the first NISEP interactive science show to run at Mount Austin High School in 2012.

 

"A key aspect of this program is that it gets the Indigenous community on board to promote science by having Indigenous youth as the 'teachers', delivering science activities and cultural information to their peers.

 

The NISEP Community Open Day at Mount Austin High School on Friday 18 October will commence with a Welcome to Country by Wiradjuri Elder, Mrs Isabel Reid from 4.30pm. A training day involving CSU academics will be held at the School on Thursday 17 October from 11.30am.

 

"I am hoping Charles Sturt University can mirror the cooperation achieved by Macquarie University in Yaegl Country in northeast NSW where, for over seven years, staff have worked with Yaegl Elders and the local high school at Maclean to deliver programs focussing on Aboriginal culture, science and technology," Professor Prenzler said.

 

"We want to engage Indigenous young people as 'teachers' to communicate science to the communities, allowing them to see science as accessible and potentially as a career option."