Let the celebrations begin! Orkney hosts first of our national events

Stemovators has been working with young people across Scotland for almost four decades as part of our mission to stimulate interest in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects.

Each year across the country we hold celebrations of pupils’ talent, creativity and passion for STEM and for 2026 we kicked off in Orkney.

The Orkney Celebration took place at King’s Street Halls, Kirkwall, and brought together pupils, teachers, employers and STEM professionals from across the islands for a collaborative day of hands‑on challenges and careers inspiration.

The event was supported by SSEN Transmission, BAM and Siemens Energy, with transport for the Stemovators team generously provided by Loganair.

The celebration formed part of Stemovators’ programme of regional STEM events, designed to help young people develop key employability skills while increasing awareness of the breadth of STEM opportunities available locally.

ENGAGEMENT NUMBERS

The event welcomed a diverse mix of learners, educators and industry representatives:

• School groups: 13
• Pupils: 78
• Teachers and parents: 9
• STEM volunteers, speakers and judges: 20
• STEM companies represented: 7
• Total attendees (including Stemovators team of three): 110

Pupils took part in a range of practical challenges designed to test teamwork, creativity and problem‑solving, as well as a Regional STEM Showcase.

AWARD WINNERS

The award winners were:

• Construct a Crane winner: Dounby Community School
• STEM Challenge winner: Hope Community School
• STEM Challenge runner‑up: Dounby Community School
• Regional STEM Showcase winner: Stenness Primary
• Regional STEM Showcase runner‑up: North Walls Community School

TEACHER FEEDBACK

Feedback from teachers was extremely positive. The event received a median score of ten out of ten on the Likert scale, indicating exceptionally high levels of satisfaction.

• 100 per cent of respondents said the event was valuable for their pupils
• 100 per cent said it increased awareness of local STEM careers
• 100 per cent said the event was enjoyable
• 100 per cent said they would like to take part again

One participating teacher said:
“Thank you so much for organising a wonderful day of STEM for us, here in Orkney.
“It was a really super event. The careers speakers were engaging, the judges were excellent at drawing out the children’s knowledge and ideas, and the challenges helped all of the children to really engage.
“It was really awesome that they were able to accommodate my third team as well – and they all did really well.”

PUPIL FEEDBACK

The celebration was also very well received by young people. Pupils gave the event a median score of nine out of ten, with 100 per cent saying they enjoyed the day.

The feedback showed clear skills development outcomes:

• 80 per cent said the event helped them develop teamwork skills
• 80 per cent said it helped develop problem‑solving skills
• 80 per cent said it helped develop communication skills
• 94 per cent said they learned about different jobs that use STEM

FORTHCOMING CELEBRATIONS

Stemovators will be delivering further celebrations across Scotland in the coming days and weeks:

• Thursday, April 23: Shetland, Shetland Museum, Lerwick
  Partners: SSEN Transmission, The Shetland Gas Plant and Loganair (in‑kind)
• Tuesday, April 28: Angus / Aberdeenshire, Stonehaven Town Hall
  Partners: Par Forestry / Aviva Investors
• Tuesday, May 12: Edinburgh, Heriot‑Watt University
  Partners: OceanWinds, CenNZ‑HDB
• Thursday, May 14: Highlands, Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness
  Partners: Confor, Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Forestry Trust
• Tuesday, May 19: Argyll and Bute (West), Corran Halls, Oban
  Partners: Par Forestry / Aviva Investors
• Thursday, May 21: Fife, Dunfermline Learning Campus, Fife College
  Partner: Shell UK Ltd
• Wednesday, May 27: North East, bp North Sea Headquarters, Aberdeen
  Partners: Shell UK Ltd and bp
• Tuesday 2 June: Argyll and Bute (East), Queen’s Hall, Dunoon
  Partner: SSE Hydro Community Fund