Last week the South Island Toloa Scholarship winners came together in Christchurch for the Toloa Pacific STEAM challenge. Myself, Darcie Evans-Tobata and Addison Nukanuka flew up to the Ara Institute campus in Christchurch on Thursday night and began the challenge on Friday morning. To begin we got to know each other through ice breakers, games and over food. The goal of the challenge was to build an understanding on how to create and form a solution to a real world problem and to successfully pitch the idea to a judging panel.

In groups of 5 or 6 we were given a real world problem, my group was given the problem of volcanic ash. When a volcano erupts it sends a cloud of ash into the sky which can travel great distances and ruin buildings, crops and harm animals. Darcie and Addison's group were given the problem of unsustainable waste management of banana leaves which when disposed produce a byproduct called methane which harms the environment. Each group had access to an expert on the topic and were guided through a 5 step process as we created a solution to our assigned problems and pitched our ideas.

Amongst the work we got to know people from all around the South Island, we played games, did lots of mini challenges and a highlight for all three of us was the amazing food which was provided. We all gained a lot from this experience, coming away with a bundle of knowledge about our respective problems but also on how to use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) to create a successful solution. With the help of our leaders we gained the skills to create a product which solved a problem and how to successfully pitch an idea. We are all so grateful to have had the opportunity to go on this trip, meet all the new people and have these experiences.