Dundee school boy races to the final with exhibition vision

A Dundee schoolboy has won a prestigious award for his innovative exhibition design, celebrating Dundee Science Centre’s 25th anniversary.

Callum Niven from Forthill Primary School was one of around 120 pupils vying for the Dundee Lord Provost STEM Inspiration Award, which tasked school pupils to design an exhibit. Longer-term, Dundee Science Centre hopes to transform Callum’s idea into an exhibition for display within the Centre.

Callum, who designed a magnetic car exhibition, captivated the judges with his ingenuity and family-friendly approach to explaining the principles of magnetism. The competition was part of the 15th Dundee Science Festival, which attracted around 9,000 visitors including 2,500 school pupils, families, and community groups.

Joining Dundee Science Centre judges was Paul Neil, Director at FifeX, who design, manufacture and install exhibits for educational purposes.

He said, "The winning design was chosen as it ticked all the boxes. The idea was about the future of transport and the sketch conveyed all the things you would want to see in a successful interactive exhibit. The design showed how it would work and what would be required to build the exhibit. It was great to see all the entries and ideas. FifeX has been building interactives for over 20 years, and we are still amazed at some of the ideas we see."

Callum and his class enjoyed a free visit to the Centre today to celebrate his success and to receive a 3D-printed trophy and prizes from Lord Provost Bill Campbell.

Mr Campbell said, “At last year’s inaugural Dundee Lord Provost STEM Inspiration Award presentation, I was inspired by meeting the participating primary school pupils at Dundee Science Centre felt fortunate to talk with such an incredible group of young STEM enthusiasts. I have been looking forward to the 2025 competition, which has once again given me the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the most curious and creative young people in our city and to get a glimpse into a bright future while presenting them with awards they have worked so hard for.”

Five, joint runners-up were also presented with pin badges and prize bags -:

Halie Balfour – St Fergus Primary School

Lily Mackie – Forthill Primary School

Casey Smart – Forthill Primary School

Emily Young – Forthill Primary School

Arfa Adeel – Dens Road Primary School

Jill Farrell, Chief Executive Officer of Dundee Science Centre, added, “It was wonderful to see such a variety of entries to this year’s Dundee Lord Provost STEM Inspiration Award, especially in this milestone year.

“We exist to encourage creativity and scientific thinking and, as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations, this year’s STEM Inspiration Award challenged local school pupils to design a hands-on learning experience to inspire future visitors, making complex scientific concepts fun and accessible. Callum’s idea achieved that and more, using cars to explain magnetism. On behalf of all the judges and the wider Dundee Science Festival team, we congratulate Callum and all the runners-up who showed real imagination and creativity with their ideas.”