Little Labs offers big gains for rural primary school kids

Laura Torpey

Little Labs founder Laura Torpey is singlehandedly making science – and school – come alive for children living in rural New Zealand.

For farmer and social entrepreneur Laura Torpey, it wasn’t just a passion for science that motivated her to launch Little Labs, a free programme offering hands-on science education for rural primary school kids. Frustration was a key factor, too.

Raised in rural New Zealand – she grew up on a red deer farm on Awhitu Peninsula – she had no formal introduction to science until she started high school in Year 9. “By then, science can be quite intimidating,” she observes. “Suddenly, you’re expected to memorise the periodic table and learn about physics and chemistry. I vividly remember thinking, ‘I’m too dumb for this.’”

Fortunately for Laura, two inspiring science teachers at her high school changed everything. Miss Cooper and Mr North ignited a passion for science that saw her go on to complete a degree in biomedical science at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland. But that latent frustration at the lack of science education for rural kids lingered, and when she overheard one of her younger cousins voicing the same doubts that she had felt, that frustration boiled over. “I remember saying the whole situation was ridiculous – after all those years, the same problem was still happening,” she recalls. “I may even have used some expletives.”

Laura felt compelled to act. “I thought, ‘I’m studying science; why don’t I do something about this?’ I contacted some rural primary schools and went from there.” The result of these early overtures was Little Labs. “It’s a cohesive, in-person programme for Years 1-8, which runs for nearly a year rather than for just a few sessions,” she explains. The programme also offers career focus sessions for Years 5-8.

Little Labs was initially a “fairly casual and rudimentary” enterprise, notes Laura. However, her decision to apply for the Velocity programme delivered by the Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) forced her to think more strategically about her venture. “Having to work on a pitch and create a business plan and lean canvas was a challenge,” she recalls. “Although I wasn’t selected, I’m still grateful for everything I learned in the application process alone. It’s what made me start to turn Little Labs into something serious.”

Little Labs is now a registered charity, which enables Laura to apply for grants and funding from community trusts and organisations like the Wright Family Foundation, who have been especially generous. Their funding will pay for school buses, teaching resources and materials for the end-of-year Science Expo, where the kids display their Little Labs projects. Laura has also secured funding from the Ministry of Business and Enterprise (MBIE)’s Sector Workforce Engagement Programme (SWEP).

The process of sourcing support was a steep learning curve, she recalls. “I was fortunate enough to have a co-worker introduce me to someone within the MBIE SWEP department. They believed in my vision one hundred percent. Before I knew it, we were drafting up funding contracts and making plans. I didn’t even have a bank account for Little Labs! It was a whirlwind for sure.”

Securing funding from private businesses poses a different sort of challenge, she says. “You are constantly having to pitch and do some cold calling or emailing – it’s tricky.” However, a generous donation from FMG Insurance has funded workbooks for 250 kids this year, and many businesses have supported the enterprise in other ways. She’s also grateful for the support of her employer, Pukekohe-based growers A. S. Wilcox and Sons, where she works as a Crop Team Leader. “They are incredibly supportive, giving me time off each week to teach, and always checking in with me about how it’s going.”

And it’s going extremely well. “It’s been really well-received by the schools,” says Laura. “I’ve got a waitlist now, which is awesome. The kids love the hands-on and interactive style of the lessons.” She was also proud to pick up an award in the Service and Leadership category of the University’s recent Blues Awards, which recognise students who have performed at the highest level.

Much of the programme’s success lies in Laura’s approach, which accommodates every style of learning: auditory, visual, reading and writing, and kinaesthetic (hands-on). Each Little Labs session begins with a group discussion followed by a slideshow of diagrams, photos and funny videos. The kids then move on to a hands-on activity and sometimes a worksheet. “The hands-on component is essential. I bring in shark jaws, insects, fossils – real life examples,” explains Laura. She also uses humour to engage her young audience. “When I’m teaching about New Zealand’s native animals, we will laugh at videos of kea stealing GoPros and destroying police cars. Science can often be taught in a very rigid and boring way; I’m on a mission to change that.”

It’s incredibly rewarding work, she says. “The kids really excel from the hands-on resources and the interactive, one-on-one nature of the session. I recently had a kid tell me, ‘I’m not good at school, because I have ADHD. But I’m really good at this! I wish all school was like this.’” Her long-term goal is to broaden her reach, securing enough funding to employ another person and bring Little Labs to as many rural schools as possible.

Unsurprisingly, running a social enterprise has been quite a learning experience for Laura, too. “One of my key lessons has been ‘Know your worth’,” she reflects. “You can’t expect anyone to believe in you and your product if you don’t back yourself.”

Nor is it easy to juggle a full-time job with her Little Labs commitments. “You have to spend every spare moment trying to be productive,” she notes. The payoff, however, is pretty profound. “I had a parent tell me that normally, when her son comes home from school, he just says that school was good. But now he comes running inside screaming ‘Mum, Mum! Guess what we did today?’ I think that’s some of the best feedback of all. It really makes me feel like I’m making a difference.”