We started the week on Monday with the team from Queen’s Climate Co-Centre. They brought biodiversity to life by showing the children just how much there is to discover in their own backyards. It was a great way to kick things off — hands-on, lively, and connected to the world the children know. Tuesday took us in a different direction. The group headed to the QUB InterSim Centre where they got a real taste of medical education. They raced each other doing CPR, tried paediatric mannequin simulations, and explored midwifery and occupational health. The immersive technology and the chance to step into a professional training environment made it a day to remember—one or two of our participants won’t be forgetting the highly immersive cave in a hurry. On Wednesday we took the scheme out of Belfast, down the Ards Peninsula to Queen’s Marine Biology Lab. The highlight for many was the boat trip on Strangford Lough — some even got to drive the boat! Thursday brought us back to Belfast, this time to the City Cemetery with the Community Archaeology team. The children handled artefacts and saw a dig site in action, connecting what they’d learned about archaeology to real places and stories. The week finished on Friday at Queen’s MediaLab. The children created storyboards, got into motion capture suits, and watched their work appear on a giant LED screen. They rounded things off by trying out computer game design in one of the labs. It was a brilliant way to close, tying together creativity, technology, and future skills.

As always, we ended with a graduation ceremony in the Lanyon Building. Families came along to see the children walk across the stage in graduation robes and receive certificates. It’s a simple thing, but a powerful one — for the kids, and for their parents too.

One of the best parts of the scheme is seeing the children who come back year after year. Many of the facilitators and volunteers we work with during the week mentioned that they’re “becoming wee leaders” — more confident, more comfortable on campus, and not afraid to ask questions of Queen’s staff. That growth in confidence is what we love most.

The scheme is more than a summer week of activities. It’s a touchpoint into education, and especially higher education, for young people in the Market. On one level, it’s about widening participation. But it’s also about meeting a real need in the community for experiences that connect children into innovation and skills pathways. Northern Ireland faces real challenges in areas like AI and cyber, where we need more skilled workers. Programmes like this help keep those doors open by showing young people that they belong in these spaces and can imagine themselves in those futures.

Every year we’re reminded that the children are born innovators. It’s the systems around them that shape what comes next — sometimes limiting ambition or narrowing their pathways. The STEAM scheme gives them something different: space to explore, to ask, to imagine.

A huge thank you to all the colleagues across Queen’s who made the week possible — the Climate Co-Centre, InterSim, Marine Biology, Community Archaeology, and MediaLab — and to the Widening Participation Unit for funding support. Most importantly, thanks to the Market volunteers and MDA staff. Their work behind the scenes is what makes this happen year after year.