Activate Your Curiosity inspires young minds across Mid and East Antrim
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s Activate Your Curiosity initiative has successfully concluded its latest programme with a series of engaging STEAM events held across the Borough in June to develop the future workforce.
Delivered in line with the school year, the initiative inspires young people to explore careers in advanced manufacturing and cleantech while strengthening links between schools, industry, academia and the public sector. Activate Your Curiosity is an important action of both the Mid and East Antrim Labour Market Partnership and the MTF ‘Making the Future’ Network, which strive to help develop the skills and talent needed in the future.
Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Alderman Thomas Gordon, said “It has been wonderful to see so many young people across the Borough taking part in this year’s Activate Your Curiosity programme. Initiatives like this demonstrate our commitment to investing in the next generation by providing opportunities to develop creativity, curiosity and practical STEAM skills.
“I would like to thank our schools, industry partners and everyone involved in making this programme such a success, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow in the year ahead.”
A highlight of this year’s programme was the delivery of ‘The Big Imagination Challenge’, a competition inviting Primary 7 pupils to pitch creative concepts for an adventure to be brought to life in an immersive storytelling dome.
The winning entry came from Dunclug Primary School pupil Tianni Halil, whose imaginative underwater mermaid story captured the judge’s attention. As part of the prize, the class participated in a four-week programme led by local storyteller Vicky McFarland of Tale Time, developing characters and storylines before showcasing their finished work in the immersive dome.
Speaking about the project, P7 teacher Andrew Ewart, said “The pupils thoroughly enjoyed taking part in this exciting and creative project, which proved to be an extremely valuable learning experience for the whole class. They were highly engaged throughout, particularly in developing their own imaginative ideas, storylines and graphics.
“Winning the competition was a fantastic achievement, and the opportunity to create and experience their own story in the immersive dome helped build confidence, teamwork, storytelling and digital creativity skills.”
The programme also delivered two large-scale STEAM career events in Larne and Ballymena for more than 250 Year 9 students. They explored future career opportunities through interactive workshops with employers and organisations including the Northern Ireland Space Office, Queen’s University Belfast, Teva Pharmaceuticals, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Sentinus, EPUKI, AECOM, Wrightbus, WheelWorks and Caterpillar.
Students reported increased confidence in their understanding of STEAM subjects and greater awareness of potential future career pathways and GCSE options following the events.
Other highlights included the Borough’s first-ever Soapbox Science event, hosted at The People’s Park, which brought science to the public in an accessible way; and a behind-the-scenes visit to Saint-Gobain Exterior Solutions by Larne High School students, offering first-hand insight into careers with the programme’s headline sponsor.
Plans for the 2026–2027 Activate Your Curiosity programme are already underway and will launch in September when schools return. If you are interested please email Christine.barnhill@midandeastantrim.gov.uk for more information.