Talking science at Viva Energy

Years 5 and 6 students from our Queensland partner schools in Palm Island and Woorabinda came together for the Brisbane Horizons camp in June. The students took part in activities including kayaking, a memorable trip to the theatre and a visit to the Viva Energy office.

The theatre show, called The Longest Minute, was based on a rugby league fan named Jess and her love for the North Queensland Cowboys and the 2015 Grand Final between Cowboys and Broncos. “The students especially loved when they made mention of the Daisy brothers who are rugby league legends back home and grandfathers to some of the Horizons students,” said Kelsey Youngblutt, National Horizons Coordinator. After the show, the students were thrilled to meet the cast and asked lots of great questions about how they got into acting and what the audition process was like.

The students had fun visiting Viva Energy’s corporate office and enjoyed their view from the 26th floor. They spoke to Viva staff about their goals and what they wanted to be when they were kids. One of the highlights was meeting with Dr Mark, a scientist. Tamiera from Palm Island received a model of the Shell V8 supercar because of all the questions she asked Dr Mark about how to become a scientist and what type of things scientists do.

A huge thanks to our National Horizons Coordinator, Kelsey Youngblutt, who leads the camps and designs them to be fun and educational for all students. Kelsey is a proud Torres Strait Islander woman who has grown up and lived on Palm Island. She recently made the move south to Melbourne to lead the Horizons Program.

Kelsey has this message for students, “By going to school every day, trying your best and working hard at school, you could get chosen to go on the next Horizons Camp!”