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WA Government News | Jun 27, 2018
- Selected public primary schools with a maximum of 100 students will receive funding grants for science equipment and resources
- Continues the McGowan Government's focus on STEM for economic growth and WA jobs
More than 60 small public primary schools will receive funding from the McGowan Government to equip their schools with much needed science resources.
The schools, each with a maximum of 100 students, will receive a science resources grant to purchase equipment for their classrooms such as telescopes, salinity testing kits, raised garden beds, lego kits, solar/photovoltaic cell kits and petri dishes.
Having science resources in their classrooms will help students develop STEM skills such as teamwork, problem solving, creativity, independent thinking, critical analysis, initiative and communication.
Igniting an interest in science in primary school students will encourage them to continue that study in secondary school, ensuring they are job-ready when they start to enter the workforce in the late 2020s or early 2030s.
A total of 36 schools with less than 50 students will receive a grant of $5,000; 25 schools with up to 100 students will receive $10,000.
The science resources grants complement other McGowan Government commitments in STEM, including $17 million for science laboratories in up to 200 public primary schools, making coding part of the school curriculum and the first ever State STEM skills strategy.