LaserTag for STEM Engagement and Education

In a century where technology is rapidly shaping the way we communicate, travel, work, and live, the numbers of students studying the natural sciences (which are often perceived as more difficult) in both the high school and the university is on the decline. Many universities and schools have been addressing this lack of interest using a wide variety of engagement programs to encourage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This paper describes a handson activity, LaserTag, that has been developed by the Department of Engineering at La Trobe University and has had thousands of high school participants over the last few years. During the activity, students solder together (and keep) electronic LaserTag devices, which they can use to shoot infrared light packets at each other to have their own skirmish activities. The effectiveness of the activity was measured based on anonymous student surveys evaluating students prior and post interest in engineering and the STEM disciplines. The survey results were very positive indicating 97% of the participants found the activity `highly enjoyable' or `enjoyable' and that 55% of students who were previously unsure about engineering as a career `strongly agreed' or `agreed' they were more interested in studying engineering as a result.