Mining, LEGO and STEM: Making the Industry Fun for Families

WA never fails to surprise me! Despite our isolation, there seems to be a club, community or event for just about every interest.

We recently took the whole family along to Bricktober, and the LEGO displays kept us entertained for hours.

One of my favourites was this detailed open pit mining scene, complete with haul trucks, drills, support vehicles and moving equipment. It was a great example of how naturally mining and STEM learning can come together. Building mining trucks and mine sites with LEGO introduces kids to engineering, mechanics, design, problem solving and spatial thinking without it ever feeling like a lesson.

It is the same principle behind the Working Deep Down children's mining books. Start with something visual and fun, then use it to explain how the equipment works, what different people do and how a mine operates.

There is a real opportunity for more of this at mining family day activities, community events for mining companies and school STEM programs. A LEGO haul truck, an underground machine or a children's mining book can all be simple ways to help kids understand an industry that can otherwise feel a long way from their everyday world.

For mining families especially, these activities can also help children better understand what Mum, Dad or another family member actually does when they head away to site.

Sometimes the best STEM education starts with something as simple as a pile of bricks and a really big yellow truck!