STEM Wana Trust is a registered charity. It’s core mission is to engage and inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians (STEM) through creative community initiatives and events such as New Zealand’s first ever STEM Festival in 2019. Driven by the community, for the community. Our strength is in forging partnerships and collaborating with like minded organisations to ensure that Aotearoa leads the way in producing creative thinkers and problem solvers.

The Trust has been created with the following purpose and aims:

“To engage and inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians through creative community initiatives and events.”

• promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (“STEM”), including by way of festivals and community events to engage and inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians;

• being beneficial to the community by providing direction and management of resources to promote awareness of opportunities in STEM to young people and their families;

• advancing education by providing guidance to nurture and retain talent in STEM.

• Conversations in STEM
• YouthDev Challenge
• STEM Curiosity Day
• STEM Explorer Trail (STEMFest re-imagined)
• STEM HQ

2020 STEM Initiative is a year programme of STEM activations and engaging events, culminating in a celebratory interactive STEM Explorer Trail to be held across the heart of Tauranga’s CBD.

About Tauranga STEM Festival (STEMFest)

STEMFest was inspired by Ada Lovelace Day – an international day of celebration marking the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Tauranga STEM Festival 2019 was the first official partner event marking Ada Lovelace Day in New Zealand.

Tauranga STEM Festival (STEMFest) is an annual event showcasing all that is happening in the world of STEM and making it accessible to all communities in Tauranga, the wider Bay of Plenty and across Aotearoa. Every year Tauranga will be the focus of the nation for anything relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It will be the ‘Fieldays’ of STEM bringing thousands of curious minds into the region from across the world.

Tauranga STEM Festival is proud to be sister event to Peterborough STEM Festival in the U.K which is now is its fifth successful year.

This year, due to COVID-19 official guidelines, STEM Wana Board of Trustees made the very difficult decision to postpone the second STEM Festival event until October 2021.

Conversations in STEM with Professor Chris Lintott

Chris Lintott is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford. As Principal Investigator of the Zooniverse, he leads a team who run the world’s most successful citizen science projects, allowing more than a million people to discover planets, transcribe ancient papyri or explore the Serengeti. A passionate advocate of the public understanding of science, Chris joined us online and answered questions from our student ambassadors as will as questions from the general public from all over New Zealand as well as in the U.K. The session was live-streamed via facebook to over 500 viewers. Watch the clip on youtube.

YouthDev Challenge

For students aged 16+ interesting in coding and design. This programme provides the chance to apply learning and skills to real-world issues that will have tangible community impact – working alongside industry mentors.

Tia Lush

A graphic designer and technologist with a passion for inspiring young people and their families through shared learning experiences.

In 2016, Tia founded and co-organised the first ever (and subsequent) STEM festivals in the City of Peterborough, UK. The Peterborough STEM Festival is now in its fifth successful year and continues to grow in impact and strength. Tia has replicated the success in Tauranga with the first ever STEMFest NZ welcoming over 3,500 visitors to the CBD in October 2019.

Tia immigrated to NZ with her family in 2017 and settled on the sunny shores of Tauranga. She’s been thrilled to have met so many likeminded people who share the same passion for working with young people and driving change for the good. When she’s not organising STEM festivals, Tia loves working with companies and individuals on creating brand identity and design projects.

Visit www.whoatemycrayons.com for all things design related. You can read more about Tia’s story from Peterborough to Tauranga.

Steven Vincent

Steven is a Chartered accountant and technologist specialising in business systems & processes.

His key focus is promoting the use of Open Source software in business, education & non-profit sectors, as a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to proprietary applications through TechnologyWise.

Steven is also a co-Director of TechnologyWise, Basestation, and co-founder of Venture Centre.

In the very little spare time he has, Steven likes to run marathons and tinker with cool tech, although not at the same time.

Erin Nicholson

Erin is Tauranga born, bred and proud to live in the most beautiful city on earth. She and her technology teacher husband have three teenaged daughters, all of whom are looking towards their futures and have a strong interest in science. The family includes a fat fluffy cat and two cockatiels, as well as a flock of crazy chickens who rule the roost.

A long and varied administration-based career has included ten years at the Bay of Plenty Times where, as part of her role, Erin ran a bi-weekly column for children to write letters about their lives, school, heroes, issues of the day and aspirations. She is currently administrator in a parish office where a large part of her day is spent assisting the 40+ community groups who regularly meet in the churches complexes.

Outside of work Erin indulges in science in her own way with baking, cooking and gardening. She also spends a fair bit of time chicken wrangling.

Erin is excited to be a part of STEM Wana Trust and would love the annual STEM Festival to be a gateway for young people, in particular girls, to immerse themselves in the areas that it celebrates.

Amanda Crowther

Amanda is an organiser, a communicator, a planner, and educator. Her career in technology started in the UK as a software trainer and facilitator nearly 20 years ago, roles which taught her the value of communication. Following the urge to plan and organise things, she moved into a Business Analyst role, and from there into Product Management. Amanda returned home to New Zealand in 2016, and has settled in the beautiful Bay of Plenty.

In an alternate life Amanda would have been an astronaut or possibly a rocket scientist. Unfortunately, she didn’t discover her love of space and science until she was already a good way into adulthood.

One of the things she loves about STEMFest is that it enables children and young people to discover the amazing world of STEM, and widen their horizons and their dreamscapes. So that they can be the next astronauts or rocket scientists… the possibilities are endless!