The NSW Schools Program

The NSW Schools Program engages students, teachers and the wider community in the wonder and practical nature of science. The Young Tall Poppy award winners give their time to promote interest, study and careers in science through activities, lectures and panel discussions.

Activities include presentations and class activities by Tall Poppies at secondary and primary schools, video-conferences between Tall Poppies and high schools, science-themed seminars for students and workshops for teachers. Science education activities are also conducted for the broader community, including museum talks and public lectures.

School visits vary in format and can include presentations and or class activities by one or more Tall Poppies at primary and high schools. Students are able to talk one-on-one with the Tall Poppies about their work, how they got started, their career path and their research directions for the future. Teachers are able to take the presentation and integrate it in the classroom throughout the year, helping to bring the science to life and give it real people and real world connections for the students.


Video-conferences enable students from multiple schools (including remote and regional schools) to interact with Tall Poppies at specified times via video-conference. Slide shows and video recordings of the presentations are often available to teachers. Video-conferences are excellent for those schools who have the facilities and find it more difficult to travel to a location where a Tall Poppy is available in person. Local communities and community groups with videoconferencing capabilities looking to improve their understanding and appreciation of science can also participate in these interesting lectures and seminars.

Science-themed seminars usually adopt a specific theme (i.e. immunology, the brain, climate change) and involve presentations and activities by Tall Poppies and other scientific researchers. Numerous high schools are invited to bring students to these workshops, usually held in a central city or regional venue.

Workshops for teachers of both primary and high school students vary in format, and involve Tall Poppies giving talks on specific topics relevant to the year levels of their students. These sometimes also include teacher development activities provided by the NSW Department of Education.

Community Activities are designed to engage the wider community in the benefits and wonders of science. These activities include museum talks, public lectures and other activities, and are usually held in conjunction with other relevant organisations.

Feedback and Evaluation assist us to continually improve and expand the program to achieve even better outcomes for students and teachers. Download our Evaluation form here. For NSW results see our Evaluation Results Page.

To see upcoming outreach events in NSW click here.