Make Your Hands Dirty – While Enjoying STEAM Fun!
- The Sustainable School
- Jul 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 29
A Sneak Peek into our STEAM + Sustainability Station at the New Zealand International Science Festival (NZISF) 2025
Last weekend’s New Zealand International Science Festival (NZISF) was an absolute blast! We—The Sustainable School team (aka me and Jimmy)—were lucky enough to set up a booth to engage children in recycled art and other STEAM activities to promote sustainability.
From the moment we knew we’d be part of the festival, the preparation took three weeks. I’d like to give a special shoutout to my Mosgiel neighbourhood and the kind souls from Recycling in Ōtepoti, who donated their recycled goods, sparking even more creativity!
Given the space and the walk-in format, we designed three activities: Toss the Ring, Recycled Mixed Media Art, and Friendship Bracelet Making. Can you guess which one was the most popular? It’s hard to tell from the number of young visitors, but one thing’s for sure: all the Toss the Ring prizes, handmade by me and Jimmy using recycled materials, were gone within two hours!
Our station buzzed with creative hands turning bottle caps, party floss, and toilet rolls into brand new inventions. The proud smiles on every child’s face as they walked away with new sustainability knowledge and their self-made artwork were truly heartwarming.
Make Your Hands Dirty and Feel Life Again
Living in a developed country offers many advantages. We have easy access to water, food, clothes, and transport without really needing to know where they come from. But should we?
When I was young, I was fascinated by the American TV show How It’s Made, which my science teacher once played in class. I still remember the episode about jam cookies. Watching how the jam was made in different flavours, how cookies were shaped with a heart cut in the centre, and how the jam was squeezed just right onto the cookie before the top layer was gently pressed on—it gave me an unexplainable sense of joy and comfort. Even now, I often find myself stopping by bakery windows, watching chefs turn small, sticky dough into twists, danishes, croissants, and more.
I’ve realised that our children are growing up even further away from the physical, hands-on side of life, as their worlds fill with virtual games. While it’s fun to build houses in Minecraft or create a life in Roblox, something essential is missing.
What about bricks made from real soil and clay?
What about designing roofs to keep out the rain?
What about the plants we grow, or that grow around our homes? What are they called? How do they live and die? What effects do they have on the environment, on us, or on the animals we share this planet with?
Running the activity station reminded me how important it is to encourage our children—and ourselves—to make our hands dirty. To feel life through our fingertips, whether touching air, water, soil, or recycled materials. Everything begins with a curious heart, which I believe is within all of us. We just need to notice it, nurture it, and—as Jimmy says—approach life “with a sunny attitude.”
Celebrate Every Little Wonder
I haven’t told Jimmy this, but despite the thousand questions he asks every day (which can leave me completely exhausted!), I quietly celebrate every moment he shows curiosity about the world instead of taking it for granted. I treasure that spark and hope it stays with him forever, just like the vision we hold at The Sustainable School.
In the rush of daily life, there are so many moments when we wish we could explain every little wonder to our children but simply don’t have the time. During those times, I’ve always found the library to be the best place to find answers.
Since we moved to Dunedin, Jimmy has fallen in love with the libraries here. Every time he visits, he returns with an armful of books. He’s now such a familiar face that most librarians know him (if you’re reading this, you probably remember the boy who’s always looking for “magic books”!).
As his parent, I sometimes glance through his books to check if they’re age-appropriate, but more often than not, I end up learning something new myself. Encourage your children to read — you’ll be amazed by how curious, capable, and quick they become in exploring knowledge.
Before today’s TSS Journal ends, I want to thank He Kaupapa Hononga, Otago's Climate Change Research Network, for giving us the opportunity to bring STEAM and sustainability fun to all the visitors at the festival. We had a fantastic time and even learned a lot of new science ourselves by chatting with the other station hosts. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe. We hope to see you again soon!
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