State Conference 2023

Congratulations to all of the students and teachers who attended the Wonder of Science State Conference! We were so excited to welcome teams from across the State with over 290 people attending the 2023 Wonder of Science State Conference at The University of Queensland including 240 in-person and an additional 57 zooming in virtually.

Students who have won Regional Conferences across Queensland presented the results of the term-long Challenge Task research projects competing to be State Champions!

Students also participated in workshops on Owl ecology, fungi and food throughout the day and participated in a speed meet session with our Flying Scientists and Young Science Ambassadors.

A special congratulations to the winning teams

Year 4:

First Place - Kimberley Park State School

Second Place - Taroom State School

Third Place - Brightwater State School

Year 5:

First Place - Taroom State School

Second Place - Stretton State College

Third Place - Hambledon State School and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Chinchilla

Year 6:

First Place - Kimberley Park State School and Brightwater State School

Second Place - Meandarra State School

Third Place - Mourilyan State School

Year 7:

First Place - Spinifex State College - Mount Isa

Second Place - St Mary's Catholic College

Third Place - Redlands College

Year 8:

First Place - Foxwell State Secondary College

Second Place - Rockhampton State High School

Third Place - Spinifex State College

Year 9:

First Place – Bundaberg State High School

Second Place - Stretton State College

Third Place - Foxwell State College

Congratulations to Chase from Hambledon State School and Kevin from Kimberley Park State School for receiving the STEM Excellence Award (an award for a Year 4 – 9 student who shows a great commitment to STEM).

A big thank you to Queensland Chief Scientist Professor Kerrie Wilson for providing an insightful keynote presentation for students. We loved one of your takeaways: "Most things fail in science, but that's part of the scientific process"

We were also featured on 7NEWs Toowoombah!

We are also very excited to announce that 80% of State Champions in 2023 were female! Incredible!

Thank you to our partners including Arrow Energy, Rio Tinto, Orica, GroundProbe, QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Griffith University, University of the Sunshine Coast, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Queensland Trust for Nature, Queensland Government and Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering for making WoS possible.

Over 100,000 people reached since 2012!

Wonder of Science is excited to announce that we have reached over 100,000 people across Queensland since we began in 2012!

Thank you to the staff, teachers, students, partners, universities, Young Science Ambassadors and Flying Scientists who have made this possible. We look forward to continuing to foster a STEM culture in Queensland schools in the years to come.

Here are just some of our favourite photos from recent years.

2022 State Conference

In November 2022, our Wonder-ful 2022 Wonder of Science State Conference!

We were absolutely blown away by the record number of eager future scientists who attended the day both in person and virtually– over 164 students from 27 schools across Queensland!

Congratulations to all schools who participated at the State Conference last week! The quality of the scientific presentations on the day was nothing short of remarkable!!

Congratulations to the winning teams from the 2022 State Conference:

Year 4:

First place - Stretton State College

Second place - Taroom State School

Third place - Mossman State School

Year 5:

First place - Kimberley Park State School

Second place - Gladstone West State School

Third place - Drillham State School

Year 6:

First place - Stretton State College

Second place - Mansfield State School

Third place - TIE! Happy Valley State School and Kimberley Park State School

Year 7:

First place - Stretton State College

Second place - Rockhampton State High School

Third place - Peace Lutheran College

Year 8:

First place - Bundaberg State High School

Second place - Foxwell State Secondary College

Third place - Stretton State College

Year 9:

First place - Peace Lutheran College

Second place - Stretton State College

Third place - St Mary's Catholic College

We would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to all our partners GroundProbe, ORICA, Rio Tinto, Arrow Energy, Queensland Trust for Nature, Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre, CoralWatch, Queensland Department of Education, Kings College, ATSE, Fresh Promotions, as well as our partner Universities – QUT, Griffith University, University of the Sunshine Coast and The University of Queensland for making this day such a success.

2021 STEM Excellence Showcase

Congratulations to all the teams who represented their region at the 5th Annual WoS State Conference Friday 26 November at The University of Queensland. 132 students (97 in person and 32 virtually) in 35 teams from across Queensland showcased their research projects to the Young Science Ambassadors and special guests. The students were judged against set criteria in order to be considered for the State Champion Award for their year level.

 Thank you to our teachers and parents for supporting their students and to our valued partners for supporting the program in 2021!

PRIMARY STATE CHAMPIONS

Year 4:

1st Place - Stretton State College

Year 5:

1st Place - Stretton State College

2nd Place - Brightwater State School

3rd Place - Roma State College

Year 6:

1st Place - Meandarra State School

2nd Place - Stretton State College

3rd Place - Mount Mee State School

SECONDARY CHAMPIONS

Year 7:

1st Place - Peace Lutheran College

2nd Place - Redlands College

3rd Place - Spinifex State College

Year 8:

1st Place - A TIE! Spinifex State College - Mount Isa and Stretton State College

2nd Place - Miles State High School

3rd Place - Bundaberg State High School

Year 9:

1st Place - Peace Lutheran College

2nd Place - Stretton State College

3rd Place - Bundaberg State High School

Wonder of Science 2020 Virtual State Conference

Congratulations to all our State Conference teams who represented their regions by attending the virtual event on Friday 27 November at The University of Queensland. The depth of thought, conceptualisation, and execution that went into your investigations and presentations was incredibly impressive. Thank you for sharing the excellent responses to your Wonder of Science Challenge Tasks with your fellow Regional Conference Winners.

Thank you to The Hon Meaghan Scanlon, MP - Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Youth Affairs, Professor Bronwyn Harch - Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Innovation, and Dr Kirsty Short - influenza virologist at UQ Science, for your words of encouragement and support. Thanks also to our generous partners from university, government, education, and industry sectors: The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, Arrow Energy, Rio Tinto, The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Queensland Government, Brisbane Catholic Education, and Independent Schools Queensland.

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Year 7

3rd place – Bundaberg State High School, North Coast

2nd place – Spinifex State College - Mount Isa, Mount Isa

1st place – St Peters Lutheran College, Brisbane Metro

Year 8

3rd place – Bundaberg State High School, North Coast

2nd place – Stretton State College, South East

1st place – Cairns School of Distance Education, Far North Queensland

Year 9

3rd place – Stretton State College, South East

2nd place – Innisfail State College, Far North Queensland & Roma State College, Surat Basin

1st place – Narangba Valley State High School, North Coast

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Year 3

Junior showcase - Indooroopilly State School

Year 4

Junior Showcase - Stretton State College

Year 5

3rd place – Happy Valley State School, Mount Isa

2nd place – Stretton State College, South East

1st place – Kimberley Park State School, Brisbane Metro

Year 6

3rd place – Meandarra State School P&C, Surat Basin

2nd place – Edge Hill State School, Mount Isa

1st place – Stretton State College, South East

State Conference 2019

See all the highlights from our 2019 State Conference here! Congratulations to all the regional teams invited to attend and showcase their curriculum-aligned WoS challenge tasks. Thanks again to Queensland University of Technology for hosting us this year.

A fantastic day was had by all with the judges reporting outstanding quality in the student presentations across all year levels! The following teams were awarded:

Year 5
State Champions - Kimberley Park State School, representing the South-East Region
2nd - Guardian Angels School, representing the Metro Region
3rd - St Luke’s Anglican School, representing the North Coast Region

Year 6
State Champions - Mansfield State School, representing the Metro Region
2nd - Stretton State College, representing the Metro Region
3rd - St Martin’s Primary School, representing the Metro Region

Year 7
State Champions - Bundaberg State High School, representing the North Coast (North) Region
2nd - St Mary’s College, Ipswich, representing the Lockyer Valley Region
3rd - Roma State College, representing the Darling Downs South West Region

Year 8
State Champions - Innisfail State College, representing the Far North Queensland Region
2nd - St Mary’s College, Ipswich, representing the Lockyer Valley Region
3rd - Taroom State School, representing the Darling Downs South West Region

Year 9
State Champions - Smithfield State High School, representing the Far North Queensland Region
2nd - Spinifex State College - Mount Isa, representing the Mount Isa Region
3rd - Bundaberg State High School, representing the North Coast (North) Region

This year two Year 4 teams from Stretton State College and Indooroopilly State School also showcased their projects for the first time at a Wonder of Science State Conference!

2018 State Conference

Congratulations to all the teams who were selected from their local conferences throughout the year to represent their region at the Wonder of Science State Conference at The University of Queensland on November 30th, 2018. We're so glad you could join us to showcase your WoS STEM projects!

Please enjoy the 2018 State Conference highlights video and feel free to share it with your friends and family!

An extra special "WELL DONE!" to all those teams who presented such excellent STEM projects that they were awarded the title of 2018 State Champions:

Year 5

• 1st place - Happy Valley State School, representing Mount Isa

• 2nd place - Mansfield State School, representing Metro

• 3rd place - Dalby South State School, representing Darling Downs South West

  Year 6

• 1st place - Kimberley Park State School, representing Logan

• 2nd place - Mansfield State School, representing Metro

• 3rd place - Riverside Christian College, representing the North Coast

  Year 7

• 1st place - St Mary’s College, Ipswich, representing the Lockyer Valley

• 2nd place - Riverside Christian College, representing the North Coast

• 3rd place - Shailer Park State School, representing Logan

  Year 8

• 1st place - Roma State College, representing Darling Downs South West

• 2nd place - Spinifex State College, representing Mount Isa

• 3rd place - Marsden State High School, representing Logan

  Year 9

• 1st place - Bundaberg State High School, representing the North Coast

• 2nd place - Marsden State High School, representing Logan

• 3rd place - St Mary's College Ipswich, representing the Lockyer Valley

Thank you to our wonderful partners, without whom we would not be able to reach as far and wide across our beautiful state: Arrow Energy, Glencore, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, The University of Queensland, the Australian Academy for Technology and Engineering, the Queensland Trust For Nature, Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre, the Queensland Government and Queensland Office of the Chief Scientist.