Audio Transcript

[00:00:00]
Announcer: You’re listening to the Fizzics Ed Podcast. For hundreds of ideas, free experiments and more, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. And now, here’s your host, Ben Newsome.

[00:00:18]
Ben Newsome: Yes, welcome again for another Fizz Ed podcast. Glad to have you again for another chat around science and STEM and all that sort of thing. Trust me, today is a very interesting chat around STEM because we’re hanging out with Kate Lehane, who is the branch commissioner for Scouts Australia in the ACT. Now, you might be wondering, hang on, Scouts, what’s that got to do with STEM? Trust me, it has a lot. You see, since 2015, SciScouts has been running and Kate’s been right in the thick of it, getting kids very much hooked up with passionate STEM experts that really learn about what it really is to do science in the real world. It’s such a great programme and tell you what, it’s not for like 30 or 40 kids. We’re talking like over a thousand or so, and it’s growing, growing, growing and getting bigger and bigger as each year goes along. It’s so cool and such a great programme to hear about. So, let’s get into it. Let’s find out what Kate’s been getting up to and more importantly, what the kids get to do too.

[00:01:08]
Announcer: This is the Fizzics Ed Podcast. We’re all about science, ed tech and more. To see 100 fun free experiments you can do with your class, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. That’s physics spelled F I Z Z I C S and click 100 free experiments.

[00:01:26]
Kate Lehane: Yes, so I’m the branch commissioner for STEM and Innovation here in the Scouts ACT in Canberra, which is the national capital of Australia. And I’ve been running the SciScouts programme for the last five or six years. We started it in 2015. So, we engage kids in a whole bunch of different programmes with scientists, but primarily with a lot of hands-on activities.

[00:01:52]
Ben Newsome: So, where’d that all come from? Because obviously you guys on Scouts do a lot of hands-on stuff.

[00:01:57]
Kate Lehane: Yes, Scouts do a lot of hands-on and a lot of the kids that get engaged in our programmes are very keen and very hands-on, and they ask lots of questions. You’ll know that from the presentations we’ve been doing with them lately online; they ask lots of questions, so they’re very keen and engaged.

[00:02:16]
Kate Lehane: But there’s a whole story to how SciScouts started. So, Canberra has a lot of national institutions. It has the Australian National University, it has national museums and the like, and you know people. So, I have friends that are astronomers and they said, well, I was interested in taking a bunch of Scouts, about 30 to 40 kids up to Mount Stromlo Observatory so that they could learn about astronomy.

[00:02:47]
Kate Lehane: So, my background is as a science communicator. So, I have a background in ecology but very much an interest in telling stories of science and engaging people. So, that’s where I came from. And they said, “No, let’s check out with Brad Tucker. Brad Tucker’s your man, let’s talk to Brad.” And Brad goes, “No, no, let’s not take 40 kids up. Let’s do a whole open night for them.” So, 1,200 kids registered, 1,800 people later up on the mountain, we had our very first SciScouts Reach for the Stars event in 2015.

[00:03:20]
Ben Newsome: And you were meant to do that with 30 kids first!

[00:03:23]
Kate Lehane: 30 kids! And it got bigger and bigger and bigger. As anyone who knows Dr Brad Tucker from Mount Stromlo Observatory, he has big ideas. So, if you don’t want to do anything big, don’t go near Brad Tucker. At the moment, he’s doing a satellite selfie, but that’s pretty much where it all started. So, each year we then built upon that. That was our first partnership with Mount Stromlo Observatory. The kids got to do some observing with the telescopes outside with the Canberra Astronomical Society. There was a bunch of talks about the universe. But they were very engaged. The kids were there from like, the night was meant to be 7:00 till 9:00. They arrived at 6:00 and we kicked them out at 10:00. So, they were there, they were engaged, and that’s where it all started.

[00:04:12]
Kate Lehane: So, after that, we’ve then evolved into the following year we had a partnership with ANU Research School of Chemistry. And we had worked with them. Sven Lawrence is the senior technical officer at ANU, but he also happens to be a Venturer leader. So, he knows what kids do in a Scouting programme, but he also very much is interested in outreach and getting kids engaged. So, that evolved into 1,100 kids through the laboratories at ANU Research School of Chemistry, with them doing blueprinting, they were doing water testing, they made their own slime. But we had them in the laboratories with proper gear, proper lab coats, and they were getting the really great actual experience of being at a university. So, being on-site was really amazing and getting the experience of being at a university where they do real research.

[00:05:14]
Ben Newsome: That’s so cool. I’m just trying to imagine this, like when you’re engaging large institutions, it becomes sometimes a bit of, well, you have to get through a few different barriers to be able to make things happen. How was it trying to organise that? I mean, these aren’t small events really.

[00:05:30]
Kate Lehane: They are not small events. I can actually appreciate the support that the Australian National University has provided to our programme. They are very committed to outreach. And they’re very committed to the concept of like, say, a pipeline of building up skills. So, they understand how it is to engage kids when they’re really little, inspire them, and then they’ll have a lifelong love of science. And so they’re great support.

[00:06:03]
Ben Newsome: Wow, what a connection. I mean, I can imagine the kids sign up for Scouts, they’ve got a bit of an idea about what Scouts might be, whatever they might have read or watched, and suddenly they’re at an observatory and now they’re at a university and they’re doing water testing. That’s really cool. I mean, the impact’s quite deep. We’ve been involved with you doing this National Science Week — we’re going to call it Science Month because it is, it’s crazy. These kids are really into this. I mean, I can just tell by their questions.

[00:06:27]
Kate Lehane: They really are, and they’re switched on and they are keen. So by nature a lot of the kids that are doing Scouts, like you have this vision of Scouts, what we talk about SciScouts is Scouts but it’s not Scouts as you know it. It’s not all about knots and that. But they do badgework but that’s only the background of it. But they’re into teamwork, but they’re also into investigating and understanding the world around them. So they’re already by self-selection a group of kids that are very interested and keen and want to know about how things work.

[00:07:07]
Ben Newsome: Absolutely. The environment’s always been part of it. I mean, actually, I was just thinking as you were saying it’s not just about knots, I was thinking about people who are into topology. But you can have knots in science. But you can definitely get kids of all persuasions into this. And I just love how it kind of gives them another avenue to explore just outside of traditional learning. And turns out it then comes back into traditional learning anyway with the stuff that you’re doing. That’s really, really cool. So, I mean, SciScouts was born in the ACT. Have you had much interest outside of the ACT with getting involved?

[00:07:38]
Kate Lehane: Well, we definitely have. Interestingly, you will know you’re working with a colleague of mine, Vanessa, from WA. She’s the branch leader for STEM in WA. And very much I’ve made some recent connections with the new branch commissioner for STEM in Victoria. So there are a lot of people very interested in the model that we’re running. So as you said before, we’re quite experienced and capable at delivering large events. More recently over the last few years, we’ve done things where we’ve engaged with Robogals and doing robotics workshops and Engineers Without Borders and we do it sort of scaled down and it’s about 30, 40 kids and getting a much deeper learning.

[00:08:21]
Kate Lehane: But whatever advice I’ve had to other people that are interested in running similar programmes is you do what’s best for you. So we have experience, capability, and connections through some of these large events, which gives kids a taster of what they might like. But other organisations or other Scouting places might be able to run a smaller camp. So they might have 30 kids doing a STEM camp and learning about the science of water filtration or science of navigation. So you can run that sort of much more in-depth and scaled down a bit. So it’s horses for courses as everybody can do.

[00:09:00]
Ben Newsome: One of the things I really love about it is Scouts-led. And what I mean by that is not the leader, not the person who’s in charge of First Scouts wherever they are, but the kids. It’s really cool because it’s not just in these video conferences that we’ve been doing, I was lucky enough to be invited down to Canberra for that day we did with the Giants and you had a bunch of people on that day. The kids were leading a lot of the activities, which is really cool because that means they’ve got a bit of mastery and honestly, ownership, which is so cool to see.

[00:09:28]
Kate Lehane: Yes. So we definitely have a philosophy in Scouts of youth leading, adult supporting. So, yes, that’s definitely what we’ve run over the last few years is training workshops. So while we run these days, more recently we did the health day with you, previous to that we’ve run engineering themed extravaganzas and an environment day. But over these last couple of years, we’ve built up a capability where we do a train-the-trainer model and we get kids that are slightly older in a mentoring capacity.

[00:10:06]
Kate Lehane: So Scouts in Australia is aged from 5 to 25. And there are different sections. So you’ve got Joeys, our youngest, through to Cubs, Scouts, Venturers are our older teenagers, and then our young adults, which are Rover Scouts. And I have a person on my team, Georgia, she’s a Rover Scout. She’s my 2IC for my programme. And she’s actually got a science communication background, but she’s using SciScouts as a way to build her skills and capability in science communication, event management, partner stakeholder management, all those wonderful skills that actually give her great employability later.

[00:10:47]
Ben Newsome: Oh, massively so. I mean, I’ve seen these, these events aren’t like just invite one or two people in or a couple of different groups. These are large. I mean, let’s be honest, anyone listening right at the start, you got 1,000 kids up at Mount Stromlo. These are big events. The logistics of getting that together is so important. And just the timetabling and working out what is appropriate for what age group and do you have the right materials, and you try and teach the kids to teach the other kids.

[00:11:12]
Kate Lehane: Yes. Yes. And so that’s Georgia who’s involved more holistically in our programme, but what you’re alluding to is where we get some of our older teenagers, our Venturers and our Scouts, which are younger teenagers, and they actually design and deliver a project as part of a workshop at one of these events. So we had some kids last year at the health one that you were at, that decided to do, they were interested and passionate about parkour.

[00:11:41]
Ben Newsome: So is my son, by the way.

[00:11:43]
Kate Lehane: Parkour! Yes, it’s all amazing. But what those kids did was they investigated what was the importance of movement and how could they build an interactive activity. So these are older Venturers, older teenagers, guiding and facilitating young kids through the course that they made, but then actually explained to them what were the benefits of fitness and exercise. So they had to do some thinking about that, but they had to do a whole project in order to work out what materials they needed, what people they needed, how long they were going to run their activity, all those project-planning skills.

[00:12:19]
Ben Newsome: One of the things that’s crossed my mind just then, because there’s a number of schools, and especially for all the teachers listening in, often you’ve got these extra projects they’ve got to do after school and bring it back and showcase it. This is really an avenue for them to do this because they could actually create something really cool which could work for the Scouts and then they can then show, “Here’s what I did at Scouts” as their project or whatever it is, or even go further.

[00:12:41]
Kate Lehane: Yes. So we have a new programme. Scouts has recently changed from an older programme which was much more prescriptive badges, where you might have a science badge or an astronomy badge and it was very much tick, tick, tick, I’ve done it, I get the badge. We have now evolved in a new programme that’s been in place for about the last two to three years across Australia. It’s still gradually rolling out but the ACT has completely moved over.

[00:13:17]
Kate Lehane: And as part of that, we have special interest area projects. And in particular, we have a STEM and Innovation project that they can do. And it’s very much got a choose-your-own-adventure element. And they’ve got to set goals on what they need. So they have a template that actually helps them think about it but it’s actually, as you said, it’s youth-leading. They’re deciding what they want to do. I thought, “Hmm, I want to know about constellations.” So I’m going to investigate constellations. I’m going to set up a night where I will observe constellations and then I will report back on what I’ve learned. But within a project-planning framework which gives them those skills that they also need. And interestingly, work that’s done at school may possibly be recognised within the Scout badgework system, as long as they’ve set specific goals and outlines for their project.

[00:14:12]
Ben Newsome: Oh, totally. I mean, obviously the outcomes are important. I was just imagining how that would all link together. I was actually also thinking, are the kids involved with tracking down the partner organisations at all? Because that’s obviously often adult-to-adult usually is an easier process. But then again, that’s another skill as well that’s a little bit hard to do.

[00:14:34]
Kate Lehane: It is very, yes. Well, they will be building those skills now. I mean, as a fairly new element of a way of doing it as a programme. But the idea is that if they have an idea and they want to know stuff, then yes, they can track down expertise, someone who can help them, and then they can have a mentor that helps them through that project. So that’s the idea of trying to think about what your project is and then thinking about who can help me and then they can investigate getting someone as a guide to help them through their project.

[00:15:06]
Ben Newsome: That’s awesome. I was actually thinking, especially people listening in just wondering, did this take much funding to actually pull together? Or is it really just done on a wing and a prayer, like the smell of an oily rag so to speak?

[00:15:17]
Kate Lehane: We’re lucky enough that we’ve had a series of funding from National Science Week or Inspiring Australia. But in the scheme of things, they’re really just for basic materials. But most of it is on volunteer power and the smell of an oily rag, so you’re right. And passion. A lot of passion from people in my team and people as partner organisations that are wanting to share their interest in science.

[00:15:50]
Ben Newsome: No, that’s fantastic. And obviously engaging some seriously large institutions is no mean feat at all. And just really quickly off the bat, I mean, it’s one of those things that momentum builds more momentum, which is always that thing that’s really good for the kids to see happen as well. I mean, undoubtedly you’d have more projects, events and things coming up. I mean, so I’m going to ask, what is coming up? So, building momentum.

[00:16:16]
Kate Lehane: What is coming up? So, building momentum. So, this year’s theme has been SciScouts Space. You guys are part of SciScouts Space. Having built up our programme over the few years, we run themes each year. And earlier this year, Brad from Mount Stromlo came back to us and said, “Oh, we haven’t done some programmes with you more recently, so let’s set it up for this year.” So we set up a few dates for this year. COVID came along. We adapted and overcame. We’ve gone online. So we set with those dates and we’ve gone online.

[00:16:51]
Kate Lehane: You came along with an idea of let’s run some National Science Week events. Let’s do some workshops. We ran last week, we ran Destination Moon for I don’t know, I think we had reached 600 plus on the day.

[00:17:01]
Ben Newsome: Whoa, that’s the weirdest thing because I know that you see these numbers of screens involved, you never really know.

[00:17:08]
Kate Lehane: You don’t really know, because some of those weren’t just families at home connected or we had Joey mobs and Cub packs sitting there watching. So there could have been 15 to 20 kids on a single connection. So we don’t know. And then we were working with Young Stars and we were able to work out getting the Facebook Live set up. And so it’s now still up there and there are kids watching it. So they’re still watching it.

[00:17:34]
Ben Newsome: Everyone check it out! Jump to the SciScouts ACT Facebook website, you’ll totally see it. It’s one of those things that it’s a live event, but you can still get value out of watching a recording of the live event because there are experiments you can totally do just following along, it’s great.

[00:17:51]
Kate Lehane: I loved watching, I could see a kid watching the other day and they laughed at the right spot and they asked a question at another spot. So I knew that they were interacting just as much as if it was live. It was really great.

[00:18:03]
Ben Newsome: Well, it is! Like I referenced my son before, actually both my son and daughter, they love watching YouTubers in their games, the gaming YouTubers. And it’s almost, when you watch them, they almost twitch at the same time, it’s almost like they’re playing the game. It’s the same thing. It is useful and quite powerful to be involved. I reckon it’s great. So, obviously the COVID thing produced far further reach than I suppose you’d expected really.

[00:18:28]
Kate Lehane: Yes. And it’s been ACT-centric. But this year, we had some Joey Scouts from Singapore join in on our astronomy night. For the Stars, Moon or the workshops that we ran with you guys, we had kids from every single state and territory in Australia online at the same time. And we’ve been working with Scouts Victoria. Obviously they’re in lockdown and so this is giving them an opportunity to still continue their Scouting experience, but with some amazing different interactions.

[00:19:12]
Ben Newsome: Totally so. Which means that we’re doing the science thing, but let’s be honest, there’s a cultural exchange there straight away. I mean, you’ve got kids from overseas as well. Some of these events, the kids can’t talk with each other, but then again, some of these individual groups can talk with other individual groups, supervised appropriately. And that’s something that you’d never have expected if you signed yourself up for a Scouts programme.

[00:19:30]
Kate Lehane: Hmm. Cool.

[00:19:31]
Ben Newsome: It’s cool and amazing. And well, the kids in Singapore actually are Australian Scouts, they’re connected with Scouts Victoria. They have their own little group in Singapore. So they are really truly Joey Scouts from Australia, they just happen to live in Singapore.

[00:19:48]
Ben Newsome: Do you guys connect much with anyone from like the States or anywhere else? Just out of curiosity.

[00:19:54]
Kate Lehane: I’d love to! I’d love to go overseas and visit them and see what they do. I mean there’s similar programmes. Scouts BSA, so Boy Scouts of America, they run a STEM Scouts programme. And Scouts Canada has some very similar components to what Scouts Australia have just introduced with their choose-your-own-adventure, they’ve got journey cards and things. So it’d be really cool to go over there and see what they’re actually doing and what elements we, obviously learn some things to help us with SciScouts, so it’d be a good interaction.

[00:20:34]
Ben Newsome: So here’s the beauty about this thing is because it goes out there I know that some of you are from the US or Canada listening in or watching us here. Seriously reach out to Kate.

[00:20:42]
Kate Lehane: Yes, I’d like to know what other people are doing and what STEM engagement programmes you’ve run for kids that are exciting and interesting.

[00:20:51]
Ben Newsome: That’s awesome. Hey, I was just sort of wondering. Obviously you’re heavily involved with Scouts, but there are people who lead all sorts of organisations outside of school. And that means you’ve got warm bodies in front of you, 15, 20 kids doing something, and they want to introduce some sort of STEM element in any way, shape or form. What would be some advice you’d say, like your first step? I mean, it’s not the first step is to get 1,200 kids up the mountain, but your first step for 30 kids to engage them in STEM. What would you suggest would be a good thing to start off with?

[00:21:19]
Kate Lehane: I think making sure that you have some kind of simple, sort of easy-to-do STEM engagement activities. We have a really cool activity that we run with SciScouts and it was solar s’mores. And so you wouldn’t think that you could make solar, use the sun to melt your chocolate and your yummy marshmallows with your biscuit. But we run that as a really great activity with the kids. So it’s got a design element, they have to design their ovens, get it right. And so they’re actually doing design and actually doing it. It’s the hands-on element. Which is pretty cool that we’ve had to go online this year and it actually has still worked really well. But we’re really passionate about the hands-on stuff. So we can’t wait for that to be back happening.

[00:22:04]
Ben Newsome: That is brilliant.

[00:22:15]
Ben Newsome: No, that’s awesome. I do remember I think we’ve got a design on our website, the pizza box solar ovens. They work. They do work, but there are better versions. And I love the fact that the kids have to design their own. Because that’s one thing to just hand a template over, but it’s another whole thing to get kids to trial and error and try to figure out themselves.

[00:22:24]
Kate Lehane: They do work. They have to design it, to see how it works, yes. So we’ve actually done it, it was 10 degrees on a Canberra winter and I don’t know if anyone knows how cold it can get in Canberra. It’s not quite as cold as some places in America and Canada, but we do get minus eight and minus 10 degrees Celsius. But a 10 degree day in the middle and we managed to have solar melt in about 12 minutes. I mean, solar melt of the chocolate in about 12 minutes.

[00:22:56]
Ben Newsome: That’s really good.

[00:22:58]
Kate Lehane: Well they can measure it as well, that’s a measuring kind of thing, so there’s your science to it as well.

[00:23:04]
Ben Newsome: Totally. How long did it take for yours to work?

[00:23:08]
Ben Newsome: How old were the kids who designed that? Were they high school age, were they younger? 12 minutes, that’s pretty spectacular actually.

[00:23:15]
Kate Lehane: Scouts, so 12-year-olds.

[00:23:18]
Ben Newsome: That’s really well done. And one of the things too, some of the kids will go, “It didn’t work.” Well that’s just more feedback.

[00:23:23]
Kate Lehane: Well that’s science isn’t about whether it failed or not, it’s about learning and trying again next time to see what might work.

[00:23:33]
Ben Newsome: That’s awesome. Look, hey, thank you very much for honestly, it is the middle of National Science Week. So the fact that you could even just spare a little bit of time at this time, considering the programmes you’ve got running, really much appreciated. And this is all done outside of day-to-day work as well. You are a very busy person.

[00:23:50]
Kate Lehane: Passion. As I said, passion drives it and a great team, I have a team that’s behind me as well. So, as part of our SciScouts team here in the ACT. So.

[00:24:01]
Ben Newsome: Awesome. Hey, so if people want to reach out to you, how would they do that?

[00:24:06]
Kate Lehane: Yes, so you mentioned our SciScouts Facebook page, so feel free to send us a message and to follow us on Facebook, so it’s SciScouts.

[00:24:16]
Ben Newsome: Easy! SciScouts.

[00:24:18]
Kate Lehane: Easy, yes!

[00:24:19]
Ben Newsome: Favorite search engine and you will find it. Definitely so, and check out the website because it actually details events that come up. And if you’re involved in the Scouting movement in some way, shape or form, wherever you are in the world, reach out, because there could be a collaboration you’ve not thought of before. I’ve got a funny feeling we might be able to come up with something Kate with someone in another space!

[00:24:37]
Kate Lehane: Yes, I’m sure we’ll run with it, yes! It’s got to be, and it’s about seizing opportunities as well.

[00:24:43]
Ben Newsome: Exactly. Good fun. Well thank you so much. We’ll enjoy the rest of your National Science Week slash Science Month and I’ll catch you soon with another space programme. Honestly, it’s only next week!

[00:24:55]
Kate Lehane: Very soon, next Monday!

[00:24:56]
Ben Newsome: It is! Alright catch you soon.

[00:24:57]
Kate Lehane: Thank you, bye!

[00:25:00]
Announcer: We hope you’ve been enjoying the Fizzics Ed Podcast. We love making science make sense. Why don’t you book us for a science show or workshop in your school? If you’re outside of Australia, you can connect with us via a virtual excursion. See our website for more.

[00:25:17]
Ben Newsome: Well there we go. We just heard from Kate Lehane who is the branch commissioner for STEM and Innovation at Scouts ACT. And it’s such a great programme. And also, evidence-based, which is such an important thing. Go and check out scoutsact.com.au. Seriously, it’s scoutsact.com.au to find out what SciScouts is all about. And by the way, don’t forget to follow them on their Facebook page so you can always find out what the latest events are and maybe you can hook up your kids into some of these sessions. It’s such a great idea. And I’ve got this funny feeling it’s going to keep growing and growing and growing. And here’s a challenge, if you’re listening from overseas, reach out! I reckon you could do some really cool stuff digitally too. So enough from me today. As usual, we have more interesting episodes coming up throughout the year and beyond. I hope you’re having a fantastic time putting science and STEM into your kids’ worlds, no matter where you are and no matter what you’re doing. And I hope you have a blast doing it. Anyway, you’ve been listening to me, Ben from Fizzics Education, and this is the Fizzics Ed Podcast. And I will catch you another time.

[00:26:17]
Announcer: You’ve been listening to another Fizzics Ed Podcast. We’re excited about science. Subscribe to us on iTunes to download the next episode as soon as it’s released. And don’t forget, for hundreds of ideas, free experiments, our new Be Amazing book and more, go to fizzicseducation.com.au. That’s physics spelled F I Z Z I C S.

[00:26:46]
Announcer: This podcast is part of the Australian Educators Online Network. aeon.net.au

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary objective of the SciScouts programme?

SciScouts was established as the flagship STEM and Innovation programme of Scouts ACT to provide youth members with high-quality opportunities in science and technology. It aims to bridge the gap between traditional scouting activities and modern scientific inquiry by partnering with experts and universities to make STEM accessible, hands-on, and exciting within the Scouting environment.

How does the Scouting ‘Plan > Do > Review’ methodology apply to STEM?

This methodology mirrors the scientific process. Scouts Plan their investigation or project, Do the hands-on experiment or construction, and then Review what happened, why it occurred, and what they could change next time. This iterative process encourages critical thinking and allows youth to take ownership of their learning journey.

What are Special Interest Areas (SIAs) in the modernised Scouts Award Scheme?

Special Interest Areas are a component of the Scouts Australia programme that allows members to set personal goals in six specific areas, including STEM & Innovation. SIAs empower Scouts to pursue self-directed projects based on their own interests, moving away from a one-size-fits-all badge system to a more personalised, project-based learning approach.

Do Scout Leaders need a background in science to run STEM activities?

Not at all. The SciScouts model emphasises that Leaders should act as facilitators rather than experts. By using the ‘Learning by Doing’ ethos, Leaders can learn alongside the youth. SciScouts supports these volunteers by providing comprehensive resources, workshops, and access to specialist providers to build their confidence in delivering STEM content.

Why is it important to integrate STEM into traditional Scouting?

STEM is already inherently part of many traditional Scouting skills, such as the physics of knots, the chemistry of fire-lighting, and the mathematics of navigation. By explicitly identifying these links, SciScouts helps youth recognise that science isn’t just a school subject, but a practical tool used to understand and interact with the world around them.

Discussion points summarised from the SciScouts with Kate Lehane with AI assistance, verified and edited by Ben Newsome CF

Extra thought ideas to consider

The ‘Lead Learner’ Mentality in Non-Formal Education

Consider the impact of a mentor who openly admits they do not have all the answers. In the Scouting context, when a Leader explores a scientific concept alongside a youth member, it creates a collaborative environment that de-mystifies ‘the expert’. This approach can significantly reduce the ‘science anxiety’ often felt by both adults and children, fostering a culture where asking questions is more valuable than knowing facts.
This shift in power dynamics can lead to more resilient learners who are comfortable with trial and error.

Scaling Innovation Through Strategic Partnerships

SciScouts demonstrates the power of connecting community organisations with higher education and industry. How can other youth organisations leverage local expertise to provide high-level STEM engagement without needing to develop the technical content in-house?
By acting as a ‘broker’ between experts (like university researchers) and the community (Scout groups), organisations can ensure their members have access to the latest innovations while providing researchers with a platform for impactful public outreach.