STEM in the Community comes to Te Puke Primary School

The lecture also deals with the reasons for the introduction of the various pests.

Students can then build their own rat trap tunnel to keep and use at home.

“They are encouraged to record their killings,” says Rachael.

At first glance, you might think that there are hardly any scientific, technical, engineering or mathematical principles at play here, but Rachael says that's far from the truth.

“We talk a lot about conservation, which of course includes science, biology and ecology, and there have also been major developments in the area of ​​traps.

“The trap the children build is very simple, but Tracey also talks about the different traps that exist.”

This includes a trap for inaccessible locations that releases the dead animal after killing and automatically realigns itself so that it only needs to be checked every six months.

“She'll talk to them about the wildlife cameras that are being installed, the catching of feral cats and developments in trapping. Because a lot of this is happening in people's garages in New Zealand and people are thinking about solutions to these problems.”

The type and amount of bait to be used is also taken into account.

“Someone had to work through this, and these are experiments, and experiments are science.”

Mathematics comes into play by creating graphs and pie charts to illustrate the number and type of animals caught.

“It's just about getting it out to kids who might not necessarily think they're interested in math or science.”

In their view, the activities are intended to make it clear to students that they can do math and science, even if they think they can't.

“STEM is for everyone and it's in everything if you step back and look at it. STEM is becoming more and more important as these kids get older.”

The face-to-face events will take place on Thursday and Friday this week, and anyone interested will have the opportunity to come to the school on Friday after school to find out more.

“People can learn about what Predator Free BOP is doing, learn about Conservation Alliance and just see what the kids have been doing. That way we can also engage the wider community.”

Everyone is welcome, regardless of their connection to the school, and can find out how to get a free rat trap or which traps they can borrow for larger animals.