A PEMBROKESHIRE charity has been named as the Educational Charity of the Year in Wales.
The Darwin Centre, the STEM charity working with young people across Pembrokeshire, was given the award in the Wales Prestige Awards.
The aims of the Darwin Centre are to engage and inspire young people in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) through hands-on field trips and workshops with emphasis on outdoor learning and work-related experiences.
The judges at Wales Prestige Awards were impressed by the efforts made at the Darwin Centre to complement the new curriculum for Wales. The charity also provides bespoke sessions for schools to ensure that they suit the current or upcoming topics being studied and include contemporary issues such as renewable energy, climate change and ocean plastics.
Samantha Williams, manager of the centre, said: “Winning this award means so much to our small team, who strive to give Pembrokeshire learners the best possible experience of STEM whether that is through field trips such as rock pooling or workshops with specialists from industry such as physicist, Dr Mark Smith, who explores our solar system and black holes.
“We would not have been in a position to win this award without our core sponsors, Dragon LNG, who have been supporting us for 18 years and are integral to the success and stability of the charity.”
The Darwin Centre was founded by Professor Tony Campbell and Dr Stephanie Matthews in 1993 to raise pupils aspirations by opening up access to experts within STEM industries and highlighting potential careers within the sector.
The Darwin Experience educational programme has been funded by Dragon LNG since 2005 and this partnership allows the Darwin team to work with all the educational facilities in the region for free.
Over the last 18 years, the project has worked alongside almost 70,000 students.
Any Pembrokeshire schools that wish to book a field trip or workshop linked to their science and technology topics in the new year can contact Sam and Amy on darwin@darwincentre.com.
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