Our team working on the Ison Road Overpass and Extension project have given female STEM students a fun insight into career opportunities in construction and engineering.
As part of this, the students from around Ballarat built bridges from icy pole sticks and glue in a test of their engineering and construction skills.
The building challenge was part of a joint program to give girls studying STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths – an insight into potential career paths.
Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) and Geelong Manufacturing Council (GMC) hosted the Seed to STEM session at Ballarat Tech School recently.
The program aims to help female students in years 9 and 10 explore STEM-related careers, connect with professionals and learn about MRPV’s work through hands-on activities.
The bridge-building challenge involved the girls working in small groups with the technical support and encouragement of MRPV team members. The aim was to design and build a bridge that could support the most weight, which was 89kg in the case of the winning team.
The participating students also completed an environmental science-based activity, getting their hands dirty building mini sediment basins to learn about how water is managed and used on construction sites.
The session was also timely, held between World Engineering Day on Monday 4 March and International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March.
GMC received funding from the Australian Government in 2024 to introduce Seed to STEM in Ballarat, building on the success of the program in Geelong where it has run since 2017 as Girls Leading Advanced Manufacturing.
MRPV team members who attended the session are based in MRPV’s Geelong and Ballarat offices.
Find out more information about the Ison Road Overpass and Extension.