Settlers Lifestyle Retirement Village: Mobile Exhibition

It was an excellent winter's day for our club’s very first mobile STEM exhibition at Settlers Lifestyle Retirement Village. The day had an excellent atmosphere for around 50 residents, along with their grandchildren and other family members, to interact with our projects. Seeing them share opinions across generations has been undoubtedly a rewarding experience for everyone involved.

The concept of a mobile exhibition originated after my 2023 visit to the MIT Museum. The museum’s focus on interactivity and thought provoking experiences, unlike more passive traditional museums that centred on static display and explanation, were the inspiration to develop miniature, interactive technology demonstrations to actively engage people with STEM.

This visit also made me aware the inaccessibility of such opportunities to STEM experience: many people in New Zealand cannot visit such museums due to financial, physical, or practicality barriers. Thus, our mobile fair aims to address this by bringing STEM to the wider community.

Special thanks to Anne for supporting and coordinating with our student-led initiative and Glenda for PR resources. Without their support, the event would not have happened.

As for the Settlers community, we thank you for opening your door and your mind to our event. Although this was primarily a STEM exhibition, it naturally created opportunities for different generations to share their diverse perspectives on STEM, enriching everyone’s understanding.

As too many people contributed, we cannot thank them all here. However, every role, from setup to cleanup, was vital.