SCHOOL TALKS
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We received such great feedback that we have asked to have her back!
Booking Manager, School Programmes
Science can transform how students think… about the world, and about their future.
Two talks. One throughline: helping students navigate the unknown with curiosity.
Offer 1. The real, messy story of science
For students Years 5-12 (adaptable to age group)
Science as a Human Endeavour is one of the trickiest strands in the curriculum to bring to life. It's not a set of facts to teach, it's a way of thinking. I use storytelling and real-world examples from around the world, including my own field trip to the Australian outback, to make it land.
I used to stand in front of a classroom teaching kids the "right" answer. Then that field trip showed me I had it backwards. Real science isn't about knowing the answer. It's about wondering, questioning, not being sure, and following your curiosity wherever it leads.
This talk brings that story to life for students, part real scientific adventure, part personal journey, with a good dose of fun along the way. It shows them that science isn't a subject to memorise, it's a way of thinking they can use anywhere.
Students leave with:
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An understanding that science is a way of questioning, observing, interpreting, and following evidence wherever it leads
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The real, messy story behind how scientific knowledge actually gets made, through debate and disagreement, not certainty
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A sense of how science shapes real decisions, in the world and in their own lives
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The confidence to sit with the uncertainty of not having one "right" answer
Aligned with the Science as a Human Endeavour strand of the Australian Curriculum.
Offer 2. The Myth of the Straight Line Career Plan
For students Years 10-12
Ask most teenagers about their career plan and you'll get a shrug, a panic spiral, or both. (In live polls of hundreds of students, the most common words to describe planning their career were dread, panic, and overwhelm.)
This is my most-booked talk, and for good reason, it offers a different way in.
This talk borrows directly from how science actually works. Just as scientists don't start with the answer and work backwards, the best careers aren't planned out in advance either.
Drawing on my own nonlinear path, from classroom teacher to museum educator to PhD researcher to speaker, I show students how to navigate their future career the way scientists navigate the unknown: leading with curiousity, embracing uncertainty, and letting a goal, not a linear plan, guide the next move.
Students leave with:
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A reframe: career uncertainty isn't a problem to solve, it's a normal part of the process, same as it is in science
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A practical way to swap "I have no idea what I'm going to do" paralysis for purpose, using evidence about who they are and what drives them to set a career goal and move towards it
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The same evidence-and-curiosity mindset from Offer 1, but applied to students' own future and career thinking