Science pioneers have perfect formula for success

House of Science director Chris Duggan is encouraging kids to develop an interest in science before they get to secondary school.

House of Science Tauranga scooped the Supreme Award at the 2015 Trustpower Tauranga Community Awards last night.

The awards were announced and presented last night at the Tauranga Golf Club in front of almost 120 people, the majority of whom were also volunteers.

Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said the House of Science was inspiring future leaders in an industry calling out for more qualified professionals.

"House of Science Tauranga is a really unique model that is producing remarkable results across the Bay. It's wonderful to be able to acknowledge the committed volunteers who make this all happen," Mr Crosby said.

Trustpower community relations representative Jess Somerville said the House of Science in Tauranga did a fantastic job encouraging kids to engage with science and upskilling teachers.

"By enriching science education across the Bay they hope to increase the number and quality of students engaged with science.

"They achieve this by creating and delivering fantastic resources to schools right across the community, offering a tutoring service to students and professional development courses for all teachers.

"They also run a robotics club and popular after-school and holiday programmes for youth. These opportunities to upskill are taken up by around 100 families and 120 teachers per term," she said. "Behind the scenes of this successful operation are 35 volunteers who, combined, contribute around 500 hours a month. In fact, it's been so successful that, through no marketing, other branches of House of Science have begun across the North Island."

House of Science director Chris Duggan, previously the head of science at Tauranga Girls' College, set up the charitable trust in 2013 after seeing students entering high school without a basic background in science.

At the time she said she hoped to remedy the problem by giving younger students the knowledge and also by making students aware of career opportunities in the Bay linked to scientific pursuits in an effort to keep more of them in the region after they graduated.

Last year 3000 primary schoolchildren in the Western Bay made use of the resource boxes for hands-on science each term.

Three other House of Science operations opened this year, in Whakatane, Palmerston North and Hutt Valley and expressions of interest have also come from Rotorua and central Auckland.

Representatives of House of Science Tauranga received a framed certificate, a trophy and $1500 in prizemoney.

They will also have the opportunity to represent their region at the 2015 Trustpower National Community Awards, held in Dunedin next March.

The competition for this year's awards was strong, with a solid 52 entries received.