Welcome to camp! On Monday 6 July 2026, we commenced the 2025-26 Curious Minds Winter Camp! With over 130 people online from across Australia, we started our week of virtual camp that involves stimulating science, technology, engineering and mathematics sessions, fun activities and games, hands-on practicals, inspiring talks, and time to catch up with friends.

Head STEM Coach Toni led the group through an interactive Acknowledgment of Country, highlighting NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme, 50 Years Deadly. Participants shared the Countries they were joining from, highlighting the breadth of representation across Australia.

The students viewed an online gallery of NAIDOC posters and discussed what stood out to them. They enthusiastically replied to the question posed by Toni, “What is one word you hope describes the next 50 years of STEM culture?” with responses featuring innovation, growth, discovery to connection, understanding, unity, humanity, compassion, inclusion and equality.

Program Director Kelsie introduced the impressive team, including Marina, Grace and Zali (below), to share their roles and backgrounds, and extend a warm welcome to the cohort.

“It’s an awesome time to be a girl in STEM!” A video from Vanessa Kates, Executive Director, reminded them to take what they learn, whether skills, knowledge or confidence, and “remain curious, always”.

Olympiad Problem Solving Session with special guest, Isobel

Curious Minds alum, Isobel McAllister, joined the online Curious Minds Winter Camp ‘Olympiad Problem Solving’ session to share her Olympiad journey and provide students with an inspiring example of the opportunities available through STEM, and give advice on how to prepare for Science Olympiad Exams.

The camp cohort then selected breakout ‘rooms’ to attend, choosing from Biology Olympiad, Chemistry Olympiad, Earth & Environmental Science Olympiad, Physics Olympiad, Mathematical Olympiad and CAT (Computational and Algorithmic Thinking).

Read more about Isobel and her experiences. Thank you for sharing your story, Isobel!

Dr Pia – Science, Seaweed and Sustainability

“Knowledge and science belongs to everybody and we have to all be better at communicating the role of science and also communicating why science is exciting and important to understand, and it’s also fun.”

We were honoured to have Dr Pia Winberg provide a special presentation during Winter Camp, where she shared her journey in marine science, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Dr Pia Winberg is the Founder, CEO and Chief Scientist of PhycoHealth and Venus Shell Systems. She is an internationally recognised marine ecologist, seaweed biotechnology pioneer and advocate for action-driven change in sustainability.

The students had some thoughtful and interesting questions, with insightful answers from Pia.

Thank you, Pia, for taking time from your very busy schedule to motivate, educate and inspire our students.

Read more about Pia and her amazing presentation.

Curious Minds Patron, Dr Cathy Foley

“I see science as a powerful tool to be able to make the world a better place.”

Curious Minds was delighted to welcome our Patron, Dr Cathy Foley, to the Curious Minds Winter Camp via Zoom this week. Dr Foley is the former Australia’s Chief Scientist, and currently the President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).

Dr Foley joined our students and team for an inspiring presentation and discussion about the power of STEM and human ingenuity to create a better future, even in the face of growing global challenges. She started by acknowledging and paying respects to the Ngunnawal people, and highlighting NAIDOC week.

Drawing on her own illustrious career and passion for improving wellbeing through science, Dr Foley highlighted remarkable achievements, from discoveries enabled by the Square Kilometre Array and the Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, Large Hadron Collider and Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, to the increase in human life expectancy around the world. “And you’ll be glad to know that Australia was very involved in all those things which I’ve shown, because fundamental science is super important.”

She also explored some of the major risks facing our future, including climate change, biodiversity loss, misinformation and infectious disease, while sharing the success story of international action to protect the ozone layer.

Dr Foley also highlighted innovations and improvements that have been made, and most importantly, she encouraged students to think about how STEM innovation and research can help Australia, and the world, build a future worth working for, saying, “…it does show when we get together and work together as a global community, we can make a difference.”

Thank you, Dr Foley, for inspiring the next generation of STEM innovators.

Interactive Activities for Virtual Campers

During Winter Camp there were awesome and enlightening hands-on activities for the students, such as practicing with 3D Pens, investigating sand under microscope, sessions with STEM experts, and more!

In an interesting and educational session, students delivered presentations about plastic and microplastics in the ocean, including statistics and proposed solutions. Groups shared posters, articles, and a primary-school lesson, covering impacts like animals getting trapped or ingesting plastic and how microplastics enter the food chain. They were creative, educational and interesting!
STEM Coaches Catch Up

Our STEM Coaches are motivating, supportive and inspiring mentors for our Curious Minds participants during their time in the program. Winter Camp is a great time for an online catch up for the STEM Coaches, with an activity using foil to create a sculpture that represents their STEM Coaching journey. We had some excellent responses.

Thank you to our volunteer STEM Coaches who have made a huge difference to their students! Curious Minds would not have the amazing positive impact that it has without you.

Winter Camp marks the conclusion of the 2025–26 Curious Minds Program, but it is far from the end of our students’ STEM journeys.

Throughout the program, participants have developed the confidence, skills and curiosity to explore new ideas, tackle complex challenges and pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Equipped with lasting friendships, valuable mentorship and a deeper understanding of their own potential, our students leave the program ready to embrace future possibilities and continue making their mark in STEM communities and beyond.

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Thank you to our generous sponsors for their ongoing support to enable these positive outcomes!

The Curious Minds initiative is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education.

The program is jointly delivered by Australian Maths Trust and Australian Science Innovations.

Thank you to our University Partner, the Adelaide University and Principal University Partner, Curious Minds East – girls in STEM, the Australian National University.

Thank you to Program Sponsor, Aventa Solutions, who support the development of future innovators and contribute to Australia’s scientific and educational excellence.