National Museum of Scotland welcomes ‘Careers Hive’ back for 2022
Details of its annual ‘Careers Hive’ has been announced by Edinburgh Science. ‘Careers Hive’ is a week-long, free event, run by Edinburgh Science Learning, the education arm of Edinburgh Science Foundation and one of the UK’s leaders in science education.
Initially developed in 2016, ‘Careers Hive’ inspires S1-S3 pupils to pursue a STEM-based (science, technology, engineering and maths) career through hands-on activities, discussions with STEM professionals and workshops to equip them with skills and confidence to progress in their chosen field.
‘Careers Hive’ will address the rising tide of young people not choosing STEM subjects by encouraging and showcasing where this subject engagement will lead.
Between 7 and 11 of November at the National Museum of Scotland, ‘Careers Hive’ can be accessed by pre-booked school groups only with an Open Day on Saturday, 12 November.
Booked groups are guided around three main areas of activity by a science communicator which include a ‘Skills Gateway’ workshop and ‘Life After Leaving School’ discussion panel where pupils will hear from a variety of young STEM professionals and leaders in their respective fields: Gurrashpal Khakh, Quality Assurance Tester who works for Rocksteady Studios (literally!) playing computer games, Anna O’Dowd, laser engineer at Vector Photonics and winner of TechWomen 2022, Mhairi McCann, founder of Youth STEM 2030 which aims to harness the talents of youth to tackle urgent environmental issues or Dr. Liita Cairney, founder of Kalitasha which works to end period poverty around the world.
Taking over the Grand Gallery at the National Museum of Scotland, the ‘Experience STEM’ interactive exhibition is open between 7 and 12 of November and features four themed zones – Energy & Environment, Heal & Feed, Design & Play, and Build & Connect – where students and Open Day visitors engage with professionals about what they do and try out activities related to real jobs.
Some of the highlights include ‘Extreme Environments’ which sees participants strapped into an inversion table and undergo challenges while upside down, emulating jobs that require workers to perform in very different and extreme environments, perform a Keyhole Surgery on a mannequin using real medical equipment, programme Edinburgh’s Marty the Robot in Creative Coding or, in AR Sandbox, use a sandbox, projector and depth sensor to colour in the sandy terrain according to its height to learn about planning large scale environmental construction plans and the jobs involved.
Friday afternoon will also see the return of Teacher Afternoon session which will build on the ‘Careers Hive’ experience and provide activity ideas and discussions to take back to the classroom.
A teacher participating in Careers Hive said: “One pupil told me as we entered the Museum ‘to be honest, I’m here for the day out of school’. Come the end of the visit, he was telling me which STEM careers he was interested in, and how the event changed his perceptions about STEM. It opened all the pupils’ eyes to the wider range of STEM jobs rather than just a scientist or an engineer.”
Simon Gage, Director and CEO at Edinburgh Science said: “Whether it’s developing future technologies, responding to global health crises, or tackling the climate emergency, STEM skills have never been so highly in demand – but the perception still exists that STEM subjects are not for everybody. We aim to challenge these perceptions with ‘Careers Hive’, as we welcome over 2500 of Scotland’s young people to the National Museum of Scotland to share the incredible opportunities available to them if they continue to study science, technology and maths at school.
“Aimed at inspiring the next generation of problem-solvers, ‘Careers Hive’ offers a unique chance for S1–3 pupils to try hands-on activities and speak directly to early career professionals working in STEM industries, who will showcase some of the fascinating jobs that are open to them and the different education and career paths that lead there.”
Schools interested in taking part in ‘Careers Hive’ are welcome to get in touch with the team on careershive@scifest.co.uk.
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Careers Hive is supported by a range of funders, please see below for a full list. Edinburgh Science Learning projects reach around 60,000 people every year.
All images from ‘Careers Hive’ 2020