F E AT U R E
STEAM The future is here
Brisbane Grammar School’s unrivalled reputation for the teaching of science and the arts will be enhanced with the completion of the new STEAM precinct in mid-2023.
The $70-million project has been designed by architect Hamilton Wilson ’78, a third-generation BGS Old Boy who also designed The Lilley Centre, built in 2011. “To match the School’s highly developed pedagogy, our design brings the sciences and the arts together in one building,” Wilson said. “The open atrium promotes collaboration, and students can work across disciplines in an incredibly imaginative and powerful way.”
The acronym STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics – refers not just to these standalone disciplines but rather to a way of thinking. STEAM represents the skills required to process scientific method. This includes observing, forming questions, making predictions, designing and carrying out experiments, hypothesising and discussing projected outcomes.
Headmaster Anthony Micallef said the creative environment will inspire boys and teach them to tackle real-world problems across diverse disciplines. “With industry leaders demanding graduates skilled in critical and creative thinking, now is the time to invest boldly in infrastructure that will foster future innovators and problem solvers,” he said.
STEAM education uses these disciplines as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue and critical thinking. The STEAM project represents a progressive shift in teaching and learning, promoting the sharing of ideas across science subjects, the arts and humanities.
QUT Professor and BGS Old Boy Michael Milford ’98, an expert in artificial intelligence and robotics, agrees. “I think blending the traditional sciences and the arts is absolutely critical. They were once seen as separate areas, but we now realise there’s a common theme of creativity
A four-level precinct will replace the School’s ageing science classrooms with flexible learning and exhibition spaces; design, dissection and chemistry laboratories; and a 300-seat open auditorium in the building’s atrium.
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