Teen creates science programmes for kids

As a child Hien Tran loved science, but says growing up in low-income neighbourhoods in Auckland meant she didn't have opportunities to engage with science in a fun way. When she was 16, she wanted to give back to her community, so she set up a not-for profit science programme for children. Hien created her own curriculum, covering topics like physics, biology, chemistry, engineering and environmental science. Rising Scientess now runs out of libraries around Auckland and in Nelson, and even abroad, with friends running the programme in Vietnam, Thailand and United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile Hien, now 18, has just been offered a scholarship to study later this year at Yale University in the United States, and is waiting to hear back from three other colleges.