During June to September 2024, the Makers Empire team was busy criss-crossing Australia to deliver Andy Thomas Space Foundation’s Kids in Space finals and showcase events in every state and territory. Sponsored by the Andy Thomas Space Foundation and supported by the Australian Space Agency, Kids in Space introduces students to space technology and promotes awareness of job opportunities in space via exciting, space-themed STEM learning and design thinking.
Kids in Space 2024 will impact 115+ primary schools, 14,000 students and hundreds teachers across Australia. This year’s Kids in Space is significantly larger than 2023’s inaugural program of 65+ schools and 9,000+ students, thanks to new supporters such as the Northern Territory’s Department of Education, iLAuNCH Trailblazer, Victorian Department of Education, Catholic Education South Australia, Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools, and the Milner Road Foundation.
Kids in Space 2024 began with professional development days in each state and territory during February to May so that teachers could hear from guest speakers from the space industry, and receive training from Makers Empire experts on Design Thinking, Makers Empire’s 3D design tools, solving space-related problems, and 3D printing.
Students then worked on their responses to the design thinking challenge: design something that might help astronauts to work and live in space or use space technologies to design something that will help solve a problem on Earth.
The Kids in Space state/territory finals and showcase events are designed for schools to come together to share their learning, and to listen to guest speakers from the space industry. Each school also prepared an expo style booth displaying their design thinking challenge solutions, which was in the running for one of two prizes awarded by guests judges and their fellow students. The wining team chosen by the judges wins a trip to Adelaide to compete in the national Kids in Space showcase at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in November.
Below is a summary of the 10 state/territory finals (we were able to run more than one cohort in some states/territories due to the support of new partners, sponsors and funders). Learn about the winning solutions and the participating schools and see media coverage.
See highlights and the winners from the showcase events in each state and territory:
NT Kids in Space Showcase | The Essington School
The 14 Northern Territory (NT) schools participating in Kids in Space — Anula Primary School, Humpty Doo Primary School, Rosebery Primary School, Angurugu School, Borroloola School, Haileybury Rendall School, Alpurrurulam School, Jingili Primary School, Middle Point School, Wagaman Primary School, Malak Primary School, The Essington School, Driver Primary School, and Manunda Terrace Primary School — came together on 4th June for the territory finals and showcase at The Essington School in Rapid Creek.
The judges were Geneveive Donohue, Teaching & Learning Advisor, NT Education Department, Dr Stean Maier, Head, Maitec, Sarah Sutcliffe, Manager, Inspired NT, and Peter Nikoloff, Executive Director, Andy Thomas Space Foundation.
Wagaman Primary School was awarded NT state winner by the guest judge. Wagaman students wanted to enhance the effectiveness and safety of search and rescue missions in hazardous environments. Based on their research on space rovers, they designed firefighting rovers that use space technologies to collect and relay information to firefighters and first responders around signs of life.
Angurugu School was awarded the student-voted peer prize. This team of students from Groote Eylandt used space technologies to monitor the weather patterns and impact of a major tropical cyclone that hit their community in March 2024. To address the issue of minimal access to clean water following this devastating event, the students designed a water filter for drink bottles. Congratulations to both schools!!
Thanks to The Essington School, our esteemed judges and the the NT News for their awesome coverage.
QLD Kids in Space Showcase | St Mary's College
The 14 Queensland (QLD) schools participating in Kids in Space — Chinchilla State School, Dalby South State School, St Mary’s College, St Patrick’s School, Allora College, St Stephen’s Catholic Primary School, Vale View State School, Rangeville State School, Tara Shire State College, Maryvale State School, Pilton State School, Moffatdale State School, Warwick West State School, Meringandan State School, and Kulpi State School — came together on 7th June for the state finals and showcase at St Mary’s College in Toowoomba.
The judges were Dr Timothy Holt, Lecturer in Physics & Astronomy, UniSQ’s Toowoomba; Hunter Walkenhorst, Associate Director, iLAuNCH; Vedika Latchman-Singh, Business Development Manager: Global Space & Astronomy, CSIRO; Giovanni Bernal Carrillo, Business Manager, iLAuNCH; Hannah Ashford, Managing Director, The Karman Project; Rachel Junge, Senior Events & Communications Officer, Australian Space Agency.
Maryvale State School was judged the Queensland state winner with their designed solutions to deal with the problems of space junk and space junk falling to Earth. Congratulations also to Vale View State School, which took out the student-voted peer prize with their solutions that looked at what would be required to colonise Mars and tosustain life on Mars.
Thanks to St Mary’s College, our esteemed judges, The Chronicle and Channel 7.
NSW Kids in Space | Rutherford Primary School
The 8 New South Wales (NSW) schools participating in Kids in Space — St Paul’s Primary School, Belmont Christian College, St Philip’s Christian College Newcastle, Branxton Public School, Ourimbah Public School, Charlestown Public School, Rutherford Public School, and Woolomin Public School — came together for the state finals and showcase on 21 June at Rutherford Public School.
The judges were Conrad Lategan, Structures Engineer, BAE Systems; Dr Scott Sleap, national STEM education leader; Tracey Friend, Strategic Pursuits Manager: Air, Nova Systems; Tim Parsons, Expert-in-Residence, Cicada Innovations.
The winner of the NSW showcase day was Charlestown Public School, whose students designed a Judo Saver Sleep Mask (J.S.S.M) to maximise the sleep cycle for astronauts, recognising if they sleep better they work better. Future iterations will include red/amber lighting to stimulate the production of melatonin and signal sleep.
Congratulations also to Belmont Christian College, Ourimbah Public School, and Woolomin Public School who won the student-voted Peer Award in a three-way tie:
- Woolomin students explored ways to sustain human life on other planets, learning from mistakes made on Earth. They took a deeper dive into sustaining life on Mars, including research on its soil and environment to explore how it might support plant growth.
- Team 2 from Ourimbah identified a range of community-based problems. Their imaginative designs, drawing on space technologies, included virtual pets, rechargeable hearing aid batteries, self-driving farming equipment and cleaning robots to help keep their playground clean.
- Belmont students were concerned about the devastation that speeding-related accidents can have on people’s lives and wellbeing. They designed a solution to address the problem; an automatic speed limiter. This device uses GPS space technology to track the car’s speed and auto-pilots and alert systems to prevent the car from driving above the speed limit.
Thanks to Rutherford Primary School and our esteemed judges.
SA (CESA) Kids in Space | Lot Fourteen
The 13 Catholic SA schools participating in Kids in Space — St Joseph’s School Barmera, Our Lady of the River School, St Joseph’s School Renmark, St Albert’s Catholic School Loxton, St Mary Mackillop School, Our Lady Queen of Peace School, Christian Brothers College, Our Lady of Hope School, St Mark’s College – Port Pirie, Tenison Woods Catholic School, Whitefriars Catholic School, St Patrick’s School, and Mercedes College — came together on 1st July for a showcase at the Start Up Hub at Lot Fourteen.
The judges were Martin Mosert, Test Engineer, Neumann Space; Steve Campbell, Assistant Director, International Partnerships, Australian Space Agency; Michael Davis, Chair, Andy Thomas Space Foundation; Darcey Watson, Executive Officer, Andy Thomas Space Foundation; Nat Shearer, Space Systems Engineer, Australian Space Agency; and Kavindi De Silva, PR & Corporate Affairs Officer, Inovor Technologies.
Congratulations to Our Lady Queen of Peace School for winning the SA Finals. They addressed the problem of space junk by designing The Chomper, a solution that recycles, refurbishes and re-uses space debris, taking into account factors such as safety and cost. The Chomper’s features include high-tech cameras, strong teeth, storage compartments and solar panels.
Congratulations also to Our Lady of the River School who won the Peer Prize for their solution to deal with the over-population of carp in the Murray River. Mercedes College was also awarded a special CESA-awarded prize for their wellbeing robot and anti-gravity pods to look after astronauts’ wellbeing.
Thanks to Lot Fourteen and our esteemed judges.
SA Kids in Space | Adelaide Convention Centre
The 13 SA schools participating in Kids in Space — Coomandook Area School, Kaurna Plains School, Elizabeth Downs Primary School, Riverdale Primary School, Melaleuca Park Primary School, Virginia Primary School, St Francis Lockleys IQRA College, St Joseph’s Ottoway, St Peter’s Woodlands Grammar School, Uraidla Primary School, Westport Primary School, and Eudunda Area School — came together on 4th July for a showcase at the Adelaide Convention Centre as part of the national Space Forum.
Special guests included the Hon Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science, astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, Enrico Parlemo, Head of the Australian Space Agency, Minister Collins, Enrico Parlemo, Head of the Australian Space Agency, the Hon Minister Collins, Minister of Defence (New Zealand) and Iain Cossar, Head of the New Zealand Space Agency.
The judges were Maria Viera, Lecturer – Education Futures Outreach, UniSA; Nigel Doyle, Principal Consultant for Frazer-Nash (KB), Cassie Mawson, Project Coordinator, Early Careers, BAE, Lauren Springer, Space Science Officer Space-Enabled Services and Science, Australian Space Agency, Marianne Hawthorne – Economics Data Analyst, Australian Space Agency, Jack Rintoul, Space Systems Engineer, Australian Space Agency.
Congratulations to St Peters Woodland Grammar School for taking out the SA Finals. Students at St Peters Woodland learned that astronauts have severe sinus problems because of the low gravity in space. So they created Hot Drops chilli menthols and a space-safe dispenser that works in zero gravity to help them.
Congratulations also to St Francis School: Lockleys (Team #5) for winning the SA Peer Prize. The students researched the challenges that astronauts on the International Space Station can face around accessing and managing food and achieving a balanced diet. They designed a range of food packagings and an inventive food tray with separate compartments for adding carbohydrates, protein, water, snacks and fruit.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, Channel 10 and ABC Radio.
Fun times at the 17th @AndyThomasSpace🚀Space Forum! Encouraged to see the exciting projects on display at the Kids in Space Education Program😍with @MakersEmpire pic.twitter.com/e8k4IH7Ong
— Katherine Bennell-Pegg (@AussieAstroKat) July 25, 2024
There are more than 36,000 pieces of space junk in Earth’s orbit, and today I saw some budding young space experts proposed solutions to this growing issue. Kids in Space is an Australia-first program from The @AndyThomasSpace and @Makersempire, supported by @AusSpaceAgency which… pic.twitter.com/GFASSt1bul
— Blair Boyer MP (@BBoyerMP) July 24, 2024
VIC Kids in Space | Buninyong Primary School
The 10 VIC schools selected for 2024 Kids in Space — Camperdown College, Golden Square Primary School, The Lake Primary School, Newlyn Primary School, Lancefield Primary School, Buninyong Primary School, Woodford Primary School, Bullarto Primary School, Carlisle River Primary School, and Anakie Primary School — came together on Tuesday 3rd September for the VIC Finals and showcase at Buninyong Primary School in Ballarat.
The judges were Fran Murphy, Senior Director, Strategy and Business Development for APAC, KBR; Aaron Coulter, Manager Operation and Programs, Ballarat Tech School; Rebecca Stokes, Career Program and Events Personnel Supervisor, AMDA Foundation; Anwyn Chapman, Senior Project Officer | Numeracy, STEM Education Unit | Curriculum & Teaching Practice Division for the Department of Education VIC.
Congratulations to the students from team 4 at Buninyong Primary School who were judged State Winner. They wanted to help loved ones stay connected during a natural disaster, in particular, a cyclone. So they created a device that converts their mobile phone into a satellite phone.
Congratulations also to Camperdown College (team 1) for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. They designed a Space Sucker to solve the problem of space debris. It filters the space junk, melts it and brings it back to earth to be recycled into usable objects.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, WIN News Ballarat TV and The Ballarat Times.
WA Kids in Space | Mercy College
The 10 WA schools selected for 2024 Kids in Space — St Joseph’s School Waroona, Mercy College, Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Ashfield Primary School, Charthouse Primary School, Gwynne Park Primary School, Cooinda Primary School, Leda Primary School, Walpole Primary School, and Bull Creek Primary School — came together on Friday 6th September for the WA Finals and showcase at Mercy College in Perth.
The judges were Jenny Gull, STEM Program Manager, Perth Observatory; Leanne Cunnold, CEO, AROSE; Ariane Platell, CEO, QL Space; Laura Potts, Communications and Events Manager, Fogerty Foundation; Dylan Devenish, Senior Operations Assessor, Australian Space Agency; and Charlene Dmonte, Manager (Strategic Engagement and Communications) ICRAR.
Congratulations to the students from St Joseph’s School Waroona who were judged the WA State Winner. St Joseph’s students’ solution addresses a real issue affecting their community. The region was impacted by bushfire in March 2024 and firefighters had trouble accessing private properties to fight the fires. The students designed a solution that provides information and access to properties for firefighters during a bushfire and also enables access to private dams a a water source using satellite data.
Congratulations also to team 2 at Charthouse Primary School for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. Their solution is designed to help the local population of Little Penguins which is severely endangered. The students developed a data collection system that locates penguins and relays information about their habitats
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, ABC Breakfast Radio Perth and The Harvey Waroona Reporter.
ACT Kids in Space | Mungga-Iri Jingee Academy Of Future Skills
The 9 ACT schools selected for 2024 Kids in Space — Covenant Christian School, Rosary Primary School, Taqwa School, Farrer Primary School, Macgregor Primary School, Arawang Primary School, Monash Primary School, Kaleen Primary School, & St. Francis of Assisi Primary School — came together on Tuesday 10th September at the Mungga-Iri Jingee Academy Of Future Skills in Canberra for the ACT finals and showcase.
The judges were Christine Gillon, People & Culture Director, KBR; Dan Heap, Assistant Director & Instructional Mentor, ACT Education Department; Desislava (Desi) Gancheva, Assistant Manager Space Strategy, Australian Space Agency; Gillian Altham, Project Officer, Space Programs, National Space Capability, Technology and Programs, Australian Space Agency; and Lola Cummins and Charlotte Woodhouse from Rosary Primary School.
Congratulations to the students from Team 1 Rosary Primary School who were judged ACT winner. Their design solution focussed on supporting life on Mars. They designed self-sustaining pods to live in. Their further research raised new problems to solve including access to food, exercise and maintaining health.
Congratulations also to team 2 at Macgregor Primary school for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. The problem they tackled was how to grow food in different biomes in space. So they designed ways to provide oxygen and water to grow vegetables and plants in space.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, WIN News TV Canberra and RiotACT.
TAS Kids in Space | St Aloysius Catholic College
The 8 TAS schools selected for 2024 Kids in Space — Lambert School, St Aloysius Catholic College, Cape Barren Island School, Flinders Island District High School, Howrah Primary School, Lauderdale Primary School, Triabunna District School, and Sacred Heart Catholic School Geeveston — came together on Tuesday 17th September at St Aloysius Catholic College for the Tasmanian finals and showcase.
The judges were Bronwyn Hughes, Australian Space Agency; Elyse Allender, Assistant Director, Space Programs, Australian Space Agency; and Alistair Kay, Director, Regulatory Engagement, Australian Space Agency.
Congratulations to the students from Lauderdale Primary School who were judged the Tasmanian winner. Lauderdale students designed a new Mars Rover that could travel across different terrains including being able to climb the Olympus Mons Mountain on Mars. They prototyped their designs including multiple wheel types. The rover could also be used to explore previously inaccessible regions on Earth such as the Sahara Desert.
There were two joint winners of the Peer Prize as voted on by the students. Congratulations to Howrah Primary School (Group 3) and Sacred Heart Catholic School Geeveston (Group 3). Howrah students designed a system for tracking and alerting motorists to the presence of Neil the Seal, a Southern Elephant Seal who regularly causes traffic and other safety issues in Tasmania. The system is designed to alert motorists without causing a social media frenzy that would cause followers to flock to the location! Differently, Sacred Heart students designed a filter system for growing plants on the International Space Station to help provide a variety of fresh foods for astronauts.
VIC Kids in Space | North Melbourne Primary School
The 27 VIC (metropolitan) schools selected for 2024 Kids in Space — 27 Victorian schools were selected for Kids in Space 2024: Camperdown College, Golden Square Primary School, The Lake Primary School, Newlyn Primary School, Lancefield Primary School, Buninyong Primary School, Woodford Primary School, Bullarto Primary School, Carlisle River Primary School, Anakie Primary School, Coolaroo South Primary School, Rolling Hills Primary School, Western Autistic School, Parkmore Primary School, Mount Evelyn Christian School, St. Thomas’s Primary School, St Oliver Plunkett Primary School, Christ the King Catholic Primary School, Holy Name Primary School, Good Samaritan Primary School, North Melbourne Primary School, St Mary’s School, Echuca, Catholic Regional College Caroline Springs, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School St Albans, Dandenong South Primary School, Nazareth Catholic Primary School, and St Cecilia’s Catholic Primary School. — came together on Thursday 19th September at North Melbourne Primary School’s Gym for the Victorian (metropolitan) finals and showcase.
The judges were Dr Denise Heckmann, Senior Technology Safeguards Officer, Australian Space Agency; Frazer Thorpe, Education and Engagement Manager, ARC Centre of Excellence Plants for Space; Vicki Russell Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, MACS; Jeremy Kalbstein, Founder, Innov8 eLearning; Mia Dwyer, Senior Program and Policy Officer, Victorian Education Department.
Congratulations to the students from Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School St Albans, who were judged the overall VIC (metropolitan) winner. Students designed a space dome for living on Mars.
The peer prize as voted on by the students was won by two schools: Western Autistic School and Rolling Hills Primary School. Western Autistic School students designed fidget toys to help astronauts regulate themselves in space whilst Rolling Hills Primary School students designed robotic rovers.
National Finals in November
The winning team from each state and territory will meet in Adelaide in November for the national Kids in Space showcase at the Australian Space Discovery Centre. There, one team will be announced as the overall national winner of Kids in Space 2024.
Expressions of Interest Open for Kids in Space 2025
The Andy Thomas Space Foundation and Makers Empire are delighted to announce that expressions of interest are open for 2025. Schools interested in participating in Kids in 2025 should sign up now.
