Young STEM Journalism Boot Camp
Thursday, 27th February 2025 at 10:51am
Nora Vastag (Yr 11) has eight STEM-based articles published on the Double Helix website!
Christmas holidays often conjure up thoughts of gifts, summer and relaxation…but not for Nora, the school break meant she could get stuck into her passion for scientific research!
“Imagine writing a gift tag, only for it to be discovered and marvelled at thousands of years later.” - Nora Vastag Published work: Archaeology, Science & Technology: Ancient Writing Discovered in Syria.
Nora was successful in her application to take part in the Young STEM Journalism Bootcamp, held over the Christmas break. The online programme provided the perfect opportunity to translate her Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics research into clear, relatable stories, for publication by CSIRO Double Helix.
Encouraged to apply for the Junior STEM Journalism Bootcamp by her Science teacher, Dr Angelo Tedoldi, at the end of last year. Nora has an appetite for research and enjoyed receiving guided feedback from experts to research, write and fact-check stories.
Included in the bootcamp were four online Zoom meetings with a support person, with tips and tricks on how to write a good news STEM article.
“During the four-week program, we had to write ten STEM-based articles for the Double Helix magazine. For the first two weeks we wrote two articles and then for the last two weeks we wrote three articles per week,” says Nora.
“I would write an article out of a few topics that the organisers had already pre-chosen, and the article would be around 350-500 words long. I would then submit the article, get feedback on it, and revise the draft before sending it for its final review.”
“Writing coach Jillian Marshall, who lives in New York, helped me work on my weaknesses etc,” says a modest Nora.
As a result of her hard work, Nora has had eight articles published on the Double Helix website, with the best stories to be printed in the Double Helix magazine - watch this space! Click on the following links to read Nora’s articles - written in a way that makes science news fascinating and fun.
- Earth Science, Medicine, Science & Technology: Global Warming is Causing Dengue Cases to Soar
- Biology, Science & Technology: The Great Hunt
- Archaeology, Science & Technology: Ancient Writing Discovered in Syria
- Astronomy, Op-Eds, Opinion, Science & Technology: Life on Mars?
- Earth Science, Science & Technology: Cool Water Saving a Wonder of the World?
- Science, Science & Technology: Genetically Engineered Fruits
- Science & Technology, Technology: CSIRO is Shaping Energy’s Future with New Innovations
- Biology, Science & Technology: Chemicals Are Threatening Our Wildlife
