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The STEAM Precinct Officially Opens
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Brisbane Grammar School has officially opened its new six-storey learning facility, named the STEAM Precinct.  

Coinciding with the School’s Foundation Day, the official plaque on the learning hub was unveiled by Queensland Governor Dr Jeannette Young at a special ceremony, on Friday 23 February, 2024. 

A busy weekend of celebrations followed, with a STEAM Donor Gala held on Saturday night and a STEAM Open House held yesterday, which saw more than 2000 attendees visit STEAM. The open house was about giving the BGS community an opportunity to experience and explore the state-of-the-art precinct and understand how students will benefit from a STEAM education.  

“STEAM represents a progressive shift in teaching and learning, promoting the sharing of ideas across subjects,” Headmaster Anthony Micallef said.  

“More than just high-tech facilities and scientific equipment; STEAM is a shift in the way the school thinks about teaching and learning, and preparing our students for an unknown future.  

“We are beginning to see this type of learning in everyday curriculum. This is particularly so, in the cross-curriculum priorities in our National Curriculum where the arts context is used to demonstrate scientific concepts.”  

Situated at the western end of the school’s Spring Hill campus, the 17,800m2 hub provides students with opportunities to learn and collaborate in a cutting-edge environment.  

During the planning and construction phase, the school made the deliberate decision to broaden the educational and innovational offerings for students of the modern era by opting to build a contemporary STEAM Precinct, opposed to simply offering traditional STEM subjects.      

STEAM combines Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics, while STEM explicitly focuses on scientific topics. STEAM investigates the same concepts but does this through inquiry and problem-based learning methods used in the creative and artistic process.   

STEAM equips students with multidisciplinary skills, providing them with a range of hands-on experiences, including artistic and technological exploration, designing and prototyping, 3D printing, complex biological dissections, earth science studies and much more.     

Key features of the building:   

  • Spread across 17,800m2  

  • 15 innovative laboratory spaces of university standard   

  • A specialised laboratory for biological dissections  

  • Art studios and purpose-built kiln room   

  • 300-seat open auditorium with space for robot competitions, artistic displays and anthropological artefacts  

  • Three overhanging learning pods   

  • Interchangeable physics, chemistry, mathematics, technology, design and art classrooms where teachers across different disciplines can work together.   

“For educators, there is now a greater need for STEM concepts to integrate with subjects across the wider curriculum,” Mr Micallef said. 

“We know this because business and industry broadcast that future-ready employees need to have multiple areas of expertise or at least appreciate how a range of skills fit together.”  

The precinct was designed by Hamilton Wilson and his Brisbane-based firm Wilson Architects and built by Besix WATPAC.  

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