Students get hands-on with future tech at new sci-tech roadshow

Students at the Grantley Adams Memorial Secondary School got a glimpse of the technologies shaping tomorrow as the Ministry of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology (MIST) and the Ministry of Educational Transformation  launched a series of science and technology roadshows on Wednesday — 15 years after it was first conceived.

The Innovating the Future roadshow, which forms part of a national push to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, brought together interactive exhibits designed to spark curiosity and creativity among young Barbadians.

Arlene Weekes, acting director of the Science, Market Research and Innovation Unit at MIST, described the initiative as the realisation of a long‑standing vision.

Arlene Weekes, acting director of the Science Market Research and Innovation Unit at MIST. (SB)

“It’s a culmination of many long weeks, months even, of work,” Weekes told reporters. She revealed that the concept dates back more than a decade. “Fifteen years ago, I had the idea that we needed a mobile science and technology unit… to go across the length and breadth of Barbados. At the time it was going to be called Driving into the Future; now we’re Innovating the Future.”

The roadshow was intentionally designed to introduce students to a wide range of scientific disciplines through practical experiences rather than theory alone, she explained.

“We want to introduce the students to all aspects of science and technology,” she said. Among the featured activities were live demonstrations of DNA extraction using bananas, where students learned about deoxyribonucleic acid as the genetic material found in living organisms. Other stations focused on electrical circuits, electrons and how electricity works.

Students were also able to engage with a flight simulator, robotics displays and virtual reality (VR) headsets. The flight simulator was particularly important for students with an interest in aeronautics. “There are so many of our young people who are interested in flight, and it is possible for them to get there,” she noted. In the robotics area, students were encouraged not only to operate robots but to learn how they could build them themselves.

Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman underscored the broader national significance of the initiative, linking it to Barbados’s long‑term development goals.

“You’ve heard me over the last year speak about the importance of Barbados creating a knowledge‑based economy,” Blackman said. He stressed that the country must move beyond consumption. “Barbados must not only be a consumer of technology and goods… but we must now challenge the next generation… to create solutions for our global problems.”

Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman (left) looking on with other students during the robotics exercise. (SB)

Blackman added that, as Barbados prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence and five years as a republic, there is a responsibility to look ahead. The aim, he said, is to empower a generation of young Barbadians with the confidence and skills to drive the next phase of national development through innovation and technology.