More than 80 students from the two schools attended the remote campus where scientists from Canberra spent the day sharing their passion for their field.

Students were broken into groups of 20 and taken to nine different workshops, where they learnt about earth science, space engineering, marine science, archaeology, evolutionary biology and micropalaeontology.

Many of the scientists involved in the program are world renown, including marine micro palaeontologist Dr John Rogers, who has been researching what the Indian Ocean looked 5000 years ago by analysing small fossils, and Association Professor Dave Rowell whose research is unravelling the evolutionary pattern of creepy crawly bugs.

Scientist Kelly Strzepek, who is completing a doctorate in marine science, hopes the student workshops help students understand different career paths.

“My pathway into science was definitely not a straight one,” Ms Strezepek said.

“I’ve come in through back doors, scaled fences and climbed through windows when I had to.

“The skills I learned along the way meant that when I finally got here, I was more prepared and better equipped than most.

“I made a huge mistake of thinking that becoming a scientist wasn’t a good option for me, I changed my studies from settling myself up to be a marine scientists to studying art instead, this meant when I had to go back and study 12 science and maths subjects so I could get accepted into my program.”

Ms Strzepek now spends her days looking at deep-sea coral.

“My interests lie in understanding how ocean ecosystems have changed through time,” she said.

“I also really like being involved in science communication and showing people what exciting opportunities are available to students with a science background.”