Mining Meets Mini Minds at Little Kindy

Hard hats, two-way radios and mining treasure maps kept Singleton’s Little Kindy kids entertained when our HVO team visited recently. 

About 20 curious and energetic 3–5-year-olds had the world of mining brought to life in a fun and interactive way.

The HVO team included Learning and Development Coordinator Paul Watters, Environment and Community Officer Nic McLaughlin, and second-year Electrical Apprentice Levi Roberts.

The visit kicked off with a look at our safety gear, including our steel-capped boots. One brave student tested out how strong the boots were by stepping on Nic’s toe!

The kids followed “treasure maps” showing where we can dig for coal and had a blast learning how to use two-way radios, even calling Levi from the classroom to deliver a box of surprises.

The team shared stories about rescuing animals on site, showed videos of big equipment like haul trucks and diggers (which were the clear favourites!), and explained how we maintain these machines. Paul walked the kids through how we drill and blast, and we took along real coal for them to see, touch and even smell.

A colouring session wrapped things up, along with gifts of hard hats, pencil cases, squishy hard hats, and a few big lumps of coal for the centre to keep.

Thanks to the team at Little Kindy for having us, we can’t wait to come back.

If you’d like to organise a visit to your school or Early Learning Centre, please reach out to the Community and Environment team on 0455 782 292