Her Royal Majesty, Olori Atuwatse III in her  efforts to provide children of the Warri Kingdom and Delta State with qualitative education, has officially unveiled the Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Stem Innovation Centre, Iyara.

The centre was launched in memory of the Queen’s late father, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo on Sunday, May 22nd and had in attendance notable representatives from the palace, local and state governments.

 The ceremony was officiated by Zion Oshiobugie, founder of CleverMinds Foundation and administrator of the innovation centre, who warmly welcomed the Ogiame and Olori Atuwatse III alongside other guests to the centre.

The Monarchs and guests were treated to exciting demonstrations by the young learners of the centre. Displays included the remote control and management of electronic devices, the Warri-Tesla prototype and other exciting projects embarked upon by the children.

They also performed a tribute song in honour of the late Captain Idahosa that left guests teary-eyed. Speaking at the occasion, the co-founder of the centre Olori Atuwatse III welcomed His Royal Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III to the centre and every other guest present at the occasion.

She acknowledged the efforts of the First Lady of Nigeria, her Excellency Dr (Mrs) Aisha Buhari and the First Lady of Delta State, Dame Edith Okowa on their respective initiatives geared towards providing indigent children with improved and qualitative education. She however noted that there was still so much work to be done.

In her words, ‘It all starts with little initiatives like this STEM Lab. We do not always have to wait for the Government or huge funding to build legacies for our children. All we have to do is to touch lives in remote communities like Iyara and the effect will trickle down into other parts of the nation. ‘As a collective, our little efforts can go a long way in providing the infrastructure and enabling environment necessary for our children to grow into intellectual giants. 

  ‘This is my dream for every community in the kingdom, that the lives of children will be transformed from even as young as two and three years old. That we would import the highest quality education and give our children the environment that creates giants and enables them to thrive.

Children who will grow and be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts from across the globe’. The Queen commended her siblings for their contributions to making the center a reality. She also acknowledged the Administrator of the facility Mr Zion Oshiobugie and his wife for their charitable works in the kingdom.

One of the guests and a valued contributor to the STEM Centre, Dr Paddy Emmanuel Iyamu, Managing Director, GABBEM integrated services also applauded the efforts of Ogiame and Olori Atuwatse III in improving the lives of children and indigenes of the kingdom. He pledged his continued support towards more kingdom-wide projects and the vision for a greater Warri.

The Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Stem Innovation Centre is the first of its kind in the kingdom where orphaned and indigent children from different slum areas around Warri can through play, explore the amazing world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).

The space is well equipped with a wide array of engaging activities for kids to tinker with including Digital labs, Coding challenges, Robotics kits, prototyping with 3D printers, Physical computing with Arduino, computer games, and child-friendly sci-fi movies/animations, short videos on emerging technologies, and many more.