The Super STEM Fair is one science fair you do not want to miss. Head over to MOTAT on Sunday 8 April 2018 to meet the Kiwi specialists pushing the boundaries in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and experience the wonder behind the current slime craze, glow in the dark bugs, robots, volcanos and much more.

Hosted in partnership with the University of Auckland and the NZ Association of Scientists, this family focussed annual event brings the wonders of STEM into our everyday lives. Young and old will be inspired by the expertise and hands-on activities created by leading scientists and technologists from tertiary institutions and industries such as: Auckland, Canterbury and Massey Universities, AUT and the Association for Women in the Sciences.

Meet the 11-year-old kiwi entrepreneur and recent sensation, Katharina Weischede, the Slime Princess, who will be sharing her business success story and demonstrating her slimy product. If slime isn’t really your thing, then perhaps building your own robot or having a go on a hovercraft might grab your interest? Or if biology is entrenched in your genes then you’ll be delighted to get hands-on with biologists from Auckland University’s School of Biological Sciences as they demonstrate how to extract DNA from strawberries using every-day household equipment.

This year, MOTAT will host the project based learning specialists from SkillTreeNZ at the fair, giving guests the opportunity to watch sculptor Mike Porter in action as he creates a blocked in half mask, a building for miniatures that is an amalgam of computer pieces, cardboard and other objects and fashions a simple prop helmet. When asked about the connection between creativity and science, Mr Porter emphasises that STEM subjects with the inclusion of art provide a more balanced approach to problem solving. “Expanding creativity in the arts allows people to think through logical problems in a non-linear way, so although SkillTreeNZ focuses on artistic endeavours, the outcome of those creative pieces is derived from STEM subjects.  Material sciences, engineering processes, technologies and maths are all needed to resolve a creative output,” he says.