Let’s make every week National Science Week

There are no greater natural scientists and engineers than young children - ask any early childhood educator. I was fortunate to have been raised by a network of amazing educators and so perhaps that is why this little engineer never grew up.

I studied engineering, not so much to become one but, to become a storyteller. My passion is for telling narratives of wonder, exploration, determination and challenging the status quo. That is why I have loved reading the stories generated by Engineers Australia’s recent #IAmAnEngineer campaign.

So often when we talk about attracting, training and retaining talent in the engineering profession, we focus on high school and encouraging young people to engage with STEM and start down the pathway of our various disciplines.

Perhaps we need to be starting earlier at primary school and pre-school. And maybe, a large part of how we start is by seeing that science is a natural human instinct which is present in almost every child from the earliest age. “What happens if?” is a thought process children engage in even before they have language to frame the goal of their experiment!

As a mother I bear witness on a daily basis to the inherent need of my own children to get out and get their hands dirty. Youngsters have an indescribable need to make things, dismantle things, fix things…often to the despair of parents, guardians and child-minders. That doggedness to ask “why?”, to make a mess while doing so, to fall over and get back up and do it all again the next day…and the next…. is a fundamental trait of curious minds.

We were all scientists and engineers once upon a time…so why did some of us grow out of it?

Could it be that we slowly lost our self-belief? We are born bursting with the need to ask “why?” and during those enchanting early years of enlightenment, exploration, and learning, we are comfortable with the consequences regardless of the mess caused by our investigations or the bumps and bruises sustained.

Do we forget the importance of just trying things and seeing what happens? Do we lose the permission to make rookie mistakes as we “grow up” and try to meet the expectations and academic standards set by society?

As young scientists and engineers we are inducted into a world in which we are expected to strive towards pre-defined and antiquated academic targets, linked to promises of future security and prosperity. There is very limited space, time, or freedom for us to make mistakes in the pursuit of understanding.

For decades, Governments and learning institutions have invested in STEM campaigns and incentivisation programs coaxing students to choose a career path in maths, science, and engineering. So why are we not reaping the rewards of such efforts?

Former Engineers Australia’s CEO, Dr Bronwyn Evans, believes it takes a three-pronged approach, as she explained in a recent article: “The longer-term solution to shortages would require investment in young people and schools, industry-led development of early career graduates, and industry and government -wide understanding of the critical value of the migrant workforce.”

I believe there is a fourth element to this, and it is not the responsibility of our government, learning institutions or industry bodies. It falls squarely on the shoulders of our communities, villages, and families. We need to give back to our little engineers and scientists the space, freedom, and time to make the mess and mistakes that are so fundamental to understanding the world and fuelling our curiosity.

This has an upside for us “grownups” too – it gives us permission to sit back, observe and take joy in reminiscing how we were all scientists and engineers at the very beginning. And following the dulling effects of a global pandemic, perhaps rekindling this unbridled enthusiasm is exactly what we need.