“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to share my passion, that was sparked at Life, with students all over the world.”
The Centre for Life (Life) has been fostering a love for science and technology in the community for the last 25 years.
For Anna Ritzema, a visit to Life as a child provided the spark that led her to pursue a career in science on the other side of the world.
“Life opened when I was young and grew with me,” Anna said.
“School trips were followed by university balls and later I brought my own child to toddler days in the centre.”
Global impact
In 2015, Anna and her family embarked on a new chapter by emigrating to Australia. Anna took up the position of Professional Learning Consultant at Scitech, a science museum in Perth.
“I really loved the role as it gave me the opportunity to continue my love of science communication and working in a science museum felt like coming full circle from first visiting Life as a young girl.”
Anna then moved back into teaching, working with youngsters to engage them in STEM and highlight the significance of science to her students’ everyday lives.
“So many people think that science is really not for them so it’s essential to make it relatable – highlighting the links to everything from Bushfire prevention and mining to robotic exploration and the building of traditional fish traps with Elders from the community,” said Anna.
Anna’s dedication to STEM education led to numerous accolades, including being named Science and Technology Teacher of the Year and her school has become a lead institution for STEM education in Western Australia.
Her dedication to making science accessible to all also led Anna to set up an after-school science programme for Aboriginal students in the North West of Western Australia.
“It has been so rewarding and over time I have built up close contacts with many families.
“We’ve seen amazing progress. Students who were not achieving well in science are now scoring A and B grades, and attendance is almost 100 per cent.
“I’m so proud to see students that have gone on to become engineers, go into medical fields and most recently one was accepted to NASA.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to share my passion, that was sparked at Life, with students all over the world.”
Life is celebrating 25 years! We’ve been reminiscing about some of our favourite memories since we opened and would love to hear yours!
