The Phoenix School Program (Short)
Channel: The Royal Society of Victoria
Date: 22/06/2020

What if outdated equipment from university and industry laboratories became brand new equipment for high school labs? The Phoenix School Program diverts professional scientific equipment from landfill and donates it to schools in need.

Our world is going through many changes and more are on the horizon. The effects of these changes due to climate change, pollution, healthcare, food and water shortages and automation of manufacturing can already be felt. This means the pressure on our educators to prepare the champions of tomorrow has never been higher.

To meet these challenges, we need to ensure children start as soon as possible on their journey in learning about the world they’re inheriting. Setting them on their path, unfortunately, is not as simple as playing videos and reading books. There is a tactile component to STEM education that needs to be delivered to really engage the mind. Yet, many are not getting as much support as they could be due to how expensive STEM equipment can be.

At the Phoenix School Program, we believe that it’s not necessarily about doing more with more, nor doing more with less. We can do a lot with what we already have, if we do it wisely. We strive to ensure that teachers have everything they need to unleash the potential of today’s students on the challenges of tomorrow. Your support will help us to extend our capacities, from equipment storage and logistics through to schools engagement with the technical aspects of scientific inquiry.

For more information and to support us in scaling up our program, please visit https://rsv.org.au/put-science-to-work/phoenix-school-program/ .