The Australian Space Discovery Centre, located at Lot Fourteen, hosted the 2023 Kids in Space National Finals in late October.
Students from eight primary schools from every state and territory came together at the event, to share their winning space technology projects.
Yorke Peninsula's Warooka Primary School, which represented South Australia at the competition after winning the state final in July, took out the Industry Award.
Teacher Sarah Hill said through the program - which aims to get students excited about STEM - students from reception to year 2 had learnt that astronauts must exercise for at least two hours a day to avoid losing bone density and muscle mass.
This, she said, inspired the class to work together to develop play equipment for children if they lived on Mars, that was reliant on magnets and domes to work in microgravity.
"With informed instruction, student ownership and high expectations, young students can achieve at a high standard," Ms Hill said.
Their design (pictured left) received the Industry Award after voting from space industry experts.
Warooka Primary School Principal Beth Purdy-Dart said the students who travelled to Adelaide for the finals were confident in sharing their designs with students from other schools, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia (pictured below) and industry professionals from the space industry.
"Warooka is a small country school, and our students were the youngest team involved in the program
competing against schools from all across Australia," Ms Purdy-Dart said.
"To be able to receive the Industry Award is an absolutely extraordinary achievement and we are extremely proud of them."
Run in partnership by The Australian Space Agency and The Andy Thomas Foundation and delivered by Adelaide-based startup Makers Empire, Kids in Space is a national space education program delivered to more than 70 schools throughout Australia.
It is aimed at exciting the next generation of STEM stars by exposing them to space, 3D printing and design technology.
During 2021 and 2022, the program was piloted in 18 schools where 26 teachers received space-themed professional development and a $6000 education package that included a 3D printer and educational content for students.
All 44 students (pictured below) who attended the national final toured the Australian Space Discovery Centre.
Executive Officer of The Andy Thomas Space Foundation, Darcey Watson, said: “We were thrilled to see this program leave such an impact on students, teachers and local communities across the nation, inspiring what we hope will become the next generation of space workforce leaders."
South Australian Space Industry Centre Chief Executive Richard Price said that you don’t have to leave South Australia to experience the space industry first-hand.
“Our state is where you can work in the space industry," Mr Price said.
"South Australia is the home of the Australian Space Agency, Australian Mission Control Centre, Australian Space Discovery centre and more than 100 space-related industries."
The joint winners of the 2023 Kids in Space National Prize were Gunbalanya School in the Northern Territory and Our Lady of Good Counsel Primary School in Victoria.
