Bringing Volcano Science to Life at various STEM outreach events

Both events buzzed with energy as curious minds of all ages came together to explore the wonders of science, technology, engineering, and maths. The BTW-UC booth was a huge hit, featuring two interactive educational games — “5 Minute Volcano” and “Volcanic Explorer NZ.” These games gave visitors the chance to learn about volcanic processes, build their own volcanoes, and explore how these mighty forces shape our landscape.

One of our volunteers and PhD. Student, Kieron Wall shared, “Although the event was only a few short hours, no group had a moment to breathe from the endless stream of curious children, teachers, parents, and community members alike. We demonstrated the educational games ‘5 Minute Volcano’ and ‘Volcanic Explorer NZ.’ Children and adults both showed continuous interest in these activities and even created opportunities to discuss their own experiences and connections to their volcanoes and whenua (land) around them.”

Another of our lovely volunteers, Dr. Amilea Sork, added that the “STEMFest in Tauranga was such a cool experience! I was really impressed with the STEMFest team and the event they’ve put together. It was fantastic to see thousands of people from the community show up excited about STEM! The UC VolcanoFest booth had a very steady stream of people, both children and parents. The kids really resonated with the Volcanic Explorer video game — it was so cool to see them getting excited about building volcanoes, packing their emergency grab bags, and helping each other with in-game challenges. We got some repeat customers! The kids also felt like real geologists using the hand lenses to look at our sand samples, and more than one said the experience made them want to be a geologist someday.”

Geoeducation PhD student Laís Camargo Novaes who participated in both events shared that, “participating in both ESS and STEMFest was extremely gratifying. On those two days, I had the opportunity to see kids, parents and teachers getting excited about geology and about our volcano games, which is all we wish for! It was also nice to see children of all ages enjoying the activities in their own way. I think the best part was realising that some families visited both events and actually came back to our volcano station."

Both the events were a wonderful opportunity to engage with communities across Aotearoa, inspire young scientists to engage with geology and volcanoes. The partnership between Earth Sciences New Zealand’s Beneath the Waves and the University of Canterbury continues to seek opportunities to showcase educational resources that can make learning about volcanoes fun and easy.