The NGIS, Liveli, EO Data Science and Winyama teams celebrated their sixth annual Kids at Work Day on Friday 9th October 2020. It was the biggest turn out ever for the annual event which brought together 21 children, as young as two and as old as 15, and gave them the opportunity to step into their parents shoes and find out what it’s like to work at the NGIS Group office.

The day commenced with a virtual reading from Dr Karen Joyce, co-founder of She Maps, a STEM program for primary and secondary students. Dialing in from Cairns, Karen read She Maps’ recently published book, Pippa and Dronie that takes its young readers on a mapping adventure across Australia from the Great Barrier Reef, to Kakadu National Park, and to Yawuru Country in the Kimberley Region. 

The book introduces six characters that show Pippa how under-represented people in STEM-related fields use their mapping skills. They explore how drones are used to research whales, create maps of coral and restore the natural environment of old mine sites. 

Shortly after, the kids were taken around the office to meet NGIS team members across different business units and departments. This provided an opportunity to learn about different job roles and ask important questions about people’s work, their favourite football team and what their hobbies are.

The next activity of the day was a merciless treasure hunt around the office. Ten cryptic clues were hidden and three of the clues contained an important word. Using what3words, the three teams of kids had to find the clues, complete challenges along the way and match the three words to a famous landmark and country to claim their treasure (gold chocolate coins). 

Before clocking off, everyone enjoyed a big lunch and some virtual reality games, before heading home with goodie bags and their very own copy of Pippa and Dronie. 

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