Budding scientists have been celebrated at the 2025 Scitec Expo Awards ceremony, recognising the creativity, curiosity and collaboration of young people across Te Tauihu.

This year’s Expo showcased an exceptionally high calibre of entries, reflecting the excellent scientific and artistic talent in our region. The event encourages students to think and behave like scientists by exploring topics that matter to them through hands-on, creative investigation.

Teamwork in Action

The Scitec Expo is a true collective effort, made possible thanks to the commitment of teachers and volunteers across the region. The Best Collective Effort Award went to ESOL students from Nelson College, recognised for their teamwork, creativity and shared spirit of discovery.

Teachers Cristina Armstrong and Sylvia Nevin encouraged their ESOL immersion class, for whom English is a second language, to take part. Cristina said the students “embraced the challenge of solving science problems in areas they were passionate about. Their efforts are a testament to the fact that science is often best done together — through curiosity and sometimes a little bit of chaos! The students learnt a whole range of skills, from problem solving, teamwork, graphing and whilst practising for their interviews, their oral English skills. It was a fantastic experience, which gave the students confidence and something to be proud of.”

Celebrating Supreme Winners

Two of this year’s Supreme Awards were collaborative projects, further highlighting the power of teamwork in science and creativity.

The Supreme Technology Award went to Orion Masters and Ivan Shabeshev from Nayland College for their project The Shape of a Symphony. This was a unique project that visualised music through 3D modelling, combining skills in technology, music, art and mathematics. Judges praised its originality and execution.

The Supreme Art Award was awarded to Sylvie Wilkie and Freya Light from Nelson Intermediate with their project, Life on a Log. Judges noted the students’ use of texture and colour in their project, which portrayed the importance of stumps and logs in our ecosystems. The crochet work especially impressed the judges, which they said was well-staged and beautifully executed.

The Supreme Research Award winner was Femke Kleinloog from Nayland College for her project, Echoes of the Deep: What Leads Pilot Whales to Shore? The judges were impressed with the research, which investigated why pilot whales strand so frequently in New Zealand. Femke interacted with the Department of Conservation to help elevate her understanding of this subject. Femke is also the inaugural recipient of the University of Otago Hands-On Award. This prize offers Femke an opportunity to experience a week of authentic university life, which includes living in a university residence.

The Supreme Science Award winner was Keshia Linyard from Nayland College for her project, A Buffering Battle: Kiwi Coasts vs Carbon bouncing back. Keshia investigated the buffering capacity of different natural sediment types collected from a variety of locations in the Tasman region. The judges noted a high level of sophistication in developing the methods and said this was an outstanding project.

Community Support

This year’s Expo, held at Founders Heritage Park in late August, attracted 240 entries from 18 schools. More than 50 volunteer judges from Cawthron Institute, local schools, and partner organisations interviewed participants and assessed the project, with winners celebrated at a prizegiving ceremony at Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre in Nelson this week.

Cawthron Institute thanks major sponsors — Nelson Pine Industries, Ngāti Rārua, Nelson Science Society, Plant & Food Research, SciPad and the University of Otago — whose support makes this event possible. Cawthron also acknowledges the many teachers, volunteers and community members who help nurture the next generation of scientists and innovators as part of this event.

The next Scitec Expo will take place in Nelson in 2027.

A full list of this year’s prize winners is available here.  

Photos from the prizegiving event are available here.