Outreach
GeoOutreach
Who are we?
Established in 2021, the GeoOutreach Group in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University, aims to take their passion for geoscience education to the community. Hugo is the deputy leader and a founding member of the GeoOutreach group.
We outreach and 'inreach' to primary and high school students, the public, geoscience industry and geoscience academics. Our school-aged students come to us from local schools, regional centres, home school groups, school holiday programs and specialist colleges. From humble beginnings, we have since grown to more than 30 staff, PhD students and undergraduate students. We also help create media (e.g., flyers, videos, slideshows) to take our undergraduate and postgraduate courses to prospective student groups.
What our stakeholders say about us:
Sarah Oliver, Teacher, Merredin College, WA: "The feedback from the students and teachers was overwhelmingly positive. The students all loved the afternoon and many wrote it down as a highlight of the camp. The students really loved the interactive games and activities...our students [were] privileged to be able to hear from experts in the field. [We] really enjoyed the geology game and watching the students role-play mining industry decisions."
Angie Waszewski, STEM Communicator and DISCOVER coordinator: "From past reports and staff responses, GeoOutreach is a bit of a fan favourite [among other Curtin outreach programs]".
Tim Keely, STEM coordinator, Curtin: "Truly amazing outreach culture with you mob".
Our regular events:
DISCOVER
A holiday STEM program to help students to discover the world of research, innovation, science and engineering at Curtin. Students participate in hands-on workshops, tour our research facilities and hear from motivating researchers.
Link to the next DISCOVER event
4x a year in school holidays. Photo by Curtin STEM team member.
Curtin Open Day
Curtin University's biggest day to attract prospective students, including subset days that attract undergraduates and postgraduates. Hugo Olierook has participated as an active member since 2017. He has led the Geology side since 2020 through a challenging time during the pandemic.
Link to this year's Open Day: https://www.curtin.edu.au/events/curtin-open-day/
1x a year in autumn. Photo by me.
Perth Gem & Mineral Show
A showcase of many of the wonders that the mineral, gem and geoscience communities have to offer, with a special focus on Western Australia’s mineral heritage. The display on the left was designed by Taryn Scharf & Hugo Olierook, showing the beauty of otherwise-dull-looking minerals under UV light. Hugo has participated since the inaugural show in 2021.
Link to this year's show: https://minsocwa.org.au/pgms/
1x a year in spring. Photo by me.
Sustainability Expo
Held each year at Lynwood Senior High School, this event showcases the various roles organisations have to play in creating a sustainable future. We actively get students to participate in activities that challenge their notion of how to achieve a sustainable future, especially with respect to the role mining has to serve in our present energy transition. Hugo has participated since 2021.
1x a year in spring. Photo modified from the ICMM
Outreach programs to school-aged children
Catering to primary and high school students, we run individualized outreach and inreach programs to local primary and high schools, home school groups and indigenous groups. The photo on the right is a break-out box where students learn about what rocks we need to mine sustainably to be able to build a smartphone. Hugo has developed more than half of the activities that are routinely run during our outreach programs.
For more information, see Geology presentations for schools
10-20x a year during school terms. Photo by me.
Tours of facilities to industry and government partners
In an effort to attract industry partners, government agencies and prospective international students, we provide tours of our facilities to key stakeholders. We have also taken our passion to academic conferences and geoscience industry partners. The photo on the left is from a meeting with the Nigerian government to discuss future projects and students coming to Curtin.
8-15x a year. Photo courtesy of A. Labrooy.