During June to September 2025, the Makers Empire team was busy criss-crossing Australia to deliver Andy Thomas Space Foundation’s Kids in Space finals and showcase events in every state and territory. Sponsored by the Andy Thomas Space Foundation and supported by the Australian Space Agency, Kids in Space introduces students to space technology and promotes awareness of job opportunities in space via exciting, space-themed STEM learning and design thinking.
Kids in Space 2025 will impact 85 + primary schools, 14,000 students and hundreds teachers across Australia.
This year’s Kids in Space would not have been possible without the support of new supporters such as Foundation.
Kids in Space 2025 began with professional development days in each state and territory during February to May so that teachers could hear from guest speakers from the space industry, and receive training from Makers Empire experts on Design Thinking, Makers Empire’s 3D design tools, solving space-related problems, and 3D printing.
Students then worked on their responses to the design thinking challenge: design something that might help astronauts to work and live in space or use space technologies to design something that will help solve a problem on Earth.
The Kids in Space state/territory finals and showcase events are designed for schools to come together to share their learning, and to listen to guest speakers from the space industry. Each school also prepared an expo style booth displaying their design thinking challenge solutions, which was in the running for one of two prizes awarded by guests judges and their fellow students. The wining team chosen by the judges wins a trip to Adelaide to compete in the national Kids in Space showcase at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in November.
Below is a summary of the 10 state/territory finals (we were able to run more than one cohort in some states/territories due to the support of new partners, sponsors and funders). Learn about the winning solutions and the participating schools and see media coverage.
NT Kids in Space Showcase | Woodroffe Primary
See highlights and the winners from the showcase events in each state and territory:
The 14 Northern Territory (NT) schools participating in Kids in Space — Alcoota School, Mataranka School, Alyangula Area School, Woodroffe Primary School, Katherine School of the Air, Girraween Primary School, Leanyer School, Ross Park Primary School, Sattler Christian College, Good Shepard Lutheran College, Holy Spirit Catholic Primary School, Larrakeyah Primary School, The Essington School and Manunda Terrace Primary School — came together on the 13th of June for the territory finals and showcase at Woodroffe Primary School.
The judges were Geneveive Donohue, Teaching & Learning Advisor, NT Education Department, Dr Stean Maier, Head, Maitec, Sarah Sutcliffe, Manager, Inspired NT, and Peter Nikoloff, Executive Director, Andy Thomas Space Foundation.
Wagaman Primary School was awarded NT state winner by the guest judge. Wagaman students wanted to enhance the effectiveness and safety of search and rescue missions in hazardous environments. Based on their research on space rovers, they designed firefighting rovers that use space technologies to collect and relay information to firefighters and first responders around signs of life.
Angurugu School was awarded the student-voted peer prize. This team of students from Groote Eylandt used space technologies to monitor the weather patterns and impact of a major tropical cyclone that hit their community in March 2024. To address the issue of minimal access to clean water following this devastating event, the students designed a water filter for drink bottles. Congratulations to both schools!!
Thanks to Woodroffe Primary School, our esteemed judges and the the NT News for their awesome coverage.
QLD Kids in Space Showcase | St Mary's College
The 9 Queensland (QLD) schools participating in Kids in Space —Murgon State Primary School, Tingoora State School, Kin Kora State School, Kilkivan State School P-10, Palmwoods State School, Cooloola Christian College, St James Lutheran College, St James Lutheran College and St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Bundaberg — came together on the 17th of June for the state finals and showcase at Cooloola Christian College in Gympie.
The judges were Dr Timothy Holt, Lecturer in Physics & Astronomy, UniSQ’s Toowoomba; Hunter Walkenhorst, Associate Director, iLAuNCH; Vedika Latchman-Singh, Business Development Manager: Global Space & Astronomy, CSIRO; Giovanni Bernal Carrillo, Business Manager, iLAuNCH; Hannah Ashford, Managing Director, The Karman Project; Rachel Junge, Senior Events & Communications Officer, Australian Space Agency.
Maryvale State School was judged the Queensland state winner with their designed solutions to deal with the problems of space junk and space junk falling to Earth. Congratulations also to Vale View State School, which took out the student-voted peer prize with their solutions that looked at what would be required to colonise Mars and tosustain life on Mars.
Thanks to St Mary’s College, our esteemed judges, The Chronicle and Channel 7.
NSW Kids in Space | Parkes Services Club
The 9 New South Wales (NSW) schools participating in Kids in Space — Holmwood Public School, Lithgow Public School, Blayney Public School, Neville Public School, Spring Hill Public School, Raglan Public School, St Joseph’s Parish School: Hillston, St Johns Primary School: Dubbo and Trundle Central School — came together for the state finals and showcase on the 17th of September at Parkes Services Club in Parkes, NSW.
The judges were Conrad Lategan, Structures Engineer, BAE Systems; Dr Scott Sleap, national STEM education leader; Tracey Friend, Strategic Pursuits Manager: Air, Nova Systems; Tim Parsons, Expert-in-Residence, Cicada Innovations.
The winner of the NSW showcase day was Charlestown Public School, whose students designed a Judo Saver Sleep Mask (J.S.S.M) to maximise the sleep cycle for astronauts, recognising if they sleep better they work better. Future iterations will include red/amber lighting to stimulate the production of melatonin and signal sleep.
Congratulations also to Belmont Christian College, Ourimbah Public School, and Woolomin Public School who won the student-voted Peer Award in a three-way tie:
- Woolomin students explored ways to sustain human life on other planets, learning from mistakes made on Earth. They took a deeper dive into sustaining life on Mars, including research on its soil and environment to explore how it might support plant growth.
- Team 2 from Ourimbah identified a range of community-based problems. Their imaginative designs, drawing on space technologies, included virtual pets, rechargeable hearing aid batteries, self-driving farming equipment and cleaning robots to help keep their playground clean.
- Belmont students were concerned about the devastation that speeding-related accidents can have on people’s lives and wellbeing. They designed a solution to address the problem; an automatic speed limiter. This device uses GPS space technology to track the car’s speed and auto-pilots and alert systems to prevent the car from driving above the speed limit.
Thanks to Rutherford Primary School and our esteemed judges.
SA Kids in Space | Riverdale Primary
The 19 SA schools participating in Kids in Space — Snowtown Primary School, John Hartley School, Palmer Primary School, Manoora Primary School, Padthaway Primary School, St Columba College, Andrews Farm, Sunrise Christian School Naracoorte, St James School, Jamestown, Riverdale Primary, Kaurna Plains School, Westport Primary School, St Peter’s Woodlands Grammar School, Christian Brothers College, Willunga Primary School, Coomandook Area School, Our Lady of Hope School, St Joseph’s Renmark, Sunrise Christian School, Paradise and IQRA College — came together on the 24th of June for a showcase at Riverdale Primary School as part of the national Space Forum.
Special guests included the Hon Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science, astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency, Enrico Parlemo, Head of the Australian Space Agency, Minister Collins, Enrico Parlemo, Head of the Australian Space Agency, the Hon Minister Collins, Minister of Defence (New Zealand) and Iain Cossar, Head of the New Zealand Space Agency.
The judges were Maria Viera, Lecturer – Education Futures Outreach, UniSA; Nigel Doyle, Principal Consultant for Frazer-Nash (KB), Cassie Mawson, Project Coordinator, Early Careers, BAE, Lauren Springer, Space Science Officer Space-Enabled Services and Science, Australian Space Agency, Marianne Hawthorne – Economics Data Analyst, Australian Space Agency, Jack Rintoul, Space Systems Engineer, Australian Space Agency.
Congratulations to St Peters Woodland Grammar School for taking out the SA Finals. Students at St Peters Woodland learned that astronauts have severe sinus problems because of the low gravity in space. So they created Hot Drops chilli menthols and a space-safe dispenser that works in zero gravity to help them.
Congratulations also to St Francis School: Lockleys (Team #5) for winning the SA Peer Prize. The students researched the challenges that astronauts on the International Space Station can face around accessing and managing food and achieving a balanced diet. They designed a range of food packagings and an inventive food tray with separate compartments for adding carbohydrates, protein, water, snacks and fruit.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, Channel 10 and ABC Radio.
Fun times at the 17th @AndyThomasSpace🚀Space Forum! Encouraged to see the exciting projects on display at the Kids in Space Education Program😍with @MakersEmpire pic.twitter.com/e8k4IH7Ong
— Katherine Bennell-Pegg (@AussieAstroKat) July 25, 2024
There are more than 36,000 pieces of space junk in Earth’s orbit, and today I saw some budding young space experts proposed solutions to this growing issue. Kids in Space is an Australia-first program from The @AndyThomasSpace and @Makersempire, supported by @AusSpaceAgency which… pic.twitter.com/GFASSt1bul
— Blair Boyer MP (@BBoyerMP) July 24, 2024
VIC Kids in Space | Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre
The 11 VIC schools selected for 2025 Kids in Space — Girgarre Primary School, Undera Primary School, Tungamah Primary School, Appin Park Primary School, Myrrhee Primary School, Beechworth Primary School, Mount Beauty Primary School, Echuca Primary School, Alexandra Primary School, Falls Creek Primary School, and Nathalia Primary School — came together on Friday the 20th of June for the VIC Finals and showcase at the Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre.
The judges were Fran Murphy, Senior Director, Strategy and Business Development for APAC, KBR; Aaron Coulter, Manager Operation and Programs, Ballarat Tech School; Rebecca Stokes, Career Program and Events Personnel Supervisor, AMDA Foundation; Anwyn Chapman, Senior Project Officer | Numeracy, STEM Education Unit | Curriculum & Teaching Practice Division for the Department of Education VIC.
Congratulations to the students from team 4 at Buninyong Primary School who were judged State Winner. They wanted to help loved ones stay connected during a natural disaster, in particular, a cyclone. So they created a device that converts their mobile phone into a satellite phone.
Congratulations also to Camperdown College (team 1) for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. They designed a Space Sucker to solve the problem of space debris. It filters the space junk, melts it and brings it back to earth to be recycled into usable objects.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, WIN News Ballarat TV and The Ballarat Times
WA Kids in Space | Joseph Banks Secondary School
The 10 WA schools selected for 2025 Kids in Space — Medina Primary School, Port Kennedy Primary School, Oakwood Primary School, Goldfields Baptist College, Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Gwynne Park Primary School, Mercy College, Ashfield Primary School, St Joseph’s School Waroona and Our Lady of Good Counsel School — came together on Tuesday the 23rd of September for the WA Finals and showcase at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Banksia Grove, WA.
The judges were Jenny Gull, STEM Program Manager, Perth Observatory; Leanne Cunnold, CEO, AROSE; Ariane Platell, CEO, QL Space; Laura Potts, Communications and Events Manager, Fogerty Foundation; Dylan Devenish, Senior Operations Assessor, Australian Space Agency; and Charlene Dmonte, Manager (Strategic Engagement and Communications) ICRAR.
Congratulations to the students from St Joseph’s School Waroona who were judged the WA State Winner. St Joseph’s students’ solution addresses a real issue affecting their community. The region was impacted by bushfire in March 2024 and firefighters had trouble accessing private properties to fight the fires. The students designed a solution that provides information and access to properties for firefighters during a bushfire and also enables access to private dams a a water source using satellite data.
Congratulations also to team 2 at Charthouse Primary School for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. Their solution is designed to help the local population of Little Penguins which is severely endangered. The students developed a data collection system that locates penguins and relays information about their habitats
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, ABC Breakfast Radio Perth and The Harvey Waroona Reporter.
ACT Kids in Space | Mungga-Iri Jingee Academy Of Future Skills
The 11 ACT schools selected for 2025 Kids in Space —Florey Primary School, Margaret Hendry District School, Mount Rogers Primary School, Wanniassa Hills Primary School, St Joseph’s Primary School- O’Connor, Canberra Girls Grammar Junior School, Chapman Primary School, Charles Weston School, Covenant Christian School, Arawang Primary School and Rosary Primary School— came together on Monday the 23rd of June at the Mungga-Iri Jingee Academy Of Future Skills in Canberra for the ACT finals and showcase.
The judges were Christine Gillon, People & Culture Director, KBR; Dan Heap, Assistant Director & Instructional Mentor, ACT Education Department; Desislava (Desi) Gancheva, Assistant Manager Space Strategy, Australian Space Agency; Gillian Altham, Project Officer, Space Programs, National Space Capability, Technology and Programs, Australian Space Agency; and Lola Cummins and Charlotte Woodhouse from Rosary Primary School.
Congratulations to the students from Team 1 Rosary Primary School who were judged ACT winner. Their design solution focussed on supporting life on Mars. They designed self-sustaining pods to live in. Their further research raised new problems to solve including access to food, exercise and maintaining health.
Congratulations also to team 2 at Macgregor Primary school for winning the peer prize as voted on by students. The problem they tackled was how to grow food in different biomes in space. So they designed ways to provide oxygen and water to grow vegetables and plants in space.
Thanks to our special guests, esteemed judges, WIN News TV Canberra and RiotACT.
National Finals in November
The winning team from each state and territory will meet in Adelaide in November for the national Kids in Space showcase at the Australian Space Discovery Centre. There, one team will be announced as the overall national winner of Kids in Space 2025.
Expressions of Interest Open for Kids in Space 2026
The Andy Thomas Space Foundation and Makers Empire are delighted to announce that expressions of interest are open for 2026. Schools interested in participating in Kids in 2026 should sign up now.
