Young students from multiple schools have come together so staff can show them the possibilities of working in science, technology and the arts.
The event with big ideas took place at a small school in Auckland's Ōtara on Thursday.
Ferguson Intermediate played host to an expo showing off STEAM careers — science, technology, engineering, arts and maths.
Figures from Statistics New Zealand show in the three months to June, almost 20% of workers were in roles like accountants, doctors, engineers or IT. However, just 13% of Māori or Pasifika worked in roles like these.
Other figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) also show Māori and Pacific peoples under-represented in research, science and innovation.
Māori make up 17% of the population, but 11% of tertiary education institutes, 5% of research organisations and 3% of researchers in businesses.
Pasifika make up 8% of the population but 4% of tertiary education institutes, and 1% of both research organisations and researchers in business.
"So if you have a look at the young people that are working in those industries, apart from having not enough of them there is a huge lack of Māori and Pasifika in that area," Michelle Hazeleger-Mollard from Kiwibots told 1News.
She was at the event showcasing the possibilities of robotics to young and eager minds.
"We're absolutely trying to plant seeds in lots of areas so that they know that this is an option for them," she said.
It was done with the likes of robots, holograms, virtual reality, computer coding, animation, and practical nuts and bolts tightening.
Sina, a Flat Bush student, had been wearing a virtual reality headset which was showing Sir Edmund Hillary's Antarctic Hut.
"I'm like in the room, it's like a kitchen... there's a table and a chair."
But some of the students needed little convincing about what a STEAM career could mean for them.
"I love all of that, all of those, I love maths mostly," Flat Bush student Exodus said.
Nyreen, who also goes to school in Flat Bush, said she also liked maths.
"Because in the future you'll have a job and you need measuring, so mathematics will help you calculate all the stuff that you'll need to do," she said.
Ferguson Intermediate's Miriama Cameron said the idea of an expo started before Covid, and hasn't been able to take place until now.
"You know it's within our DNA. Our Pacific ancestors and Māori ancestors, they were the innovators of STEAM when we think about it.
"They migrated across the oceans navigating through the stars, they concocted their own medicines. It's still instilled in us and we just need to reignite it."
Auckland University engineering student Luke Cameron was there to show first-hand what opportunities there are.
"Because this intimidates a lot of Pasifika kids," he said.
"You just kind of inspire them to see something in themselves."
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