Little Scientists Australia

What Little Scientists Australia does

Little Scientists Australia is a national non-profit initiative operated under FROEBEL Australia Limited that delivers inquiry-based STEM professional development to early childhood educators across Australia. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Sydney, NSW, the program targets educators of children aged 0-8 and is funded by the Australian Government, with formal methodology partnership with Germany's Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation. Its core offering consists of 10+ STEM workshop topics delivered as in-person workshops, in-service workshops at participating centres, and online workshops, supplemented by a Little Scientists House certification tier (200+ certified centres) and a STEM resources shop.

The business model blends government grant funding with workshop fees priced at $215 per standard workshop and $195 for certified Little Scientists Houses, alongside a resources shop and an annual Awards program (2024 winners announced, 2026 nominations open). The program is NESA-accredited, which supports uptake by registered early childhood services seeking accredited professional learning. Distribution is national, with workshop delivery in multiple Australian cities and a public House Directory that acts as both a marketing surface and a community directory.

Operationally, Little Scientists Australia is a small organisation with 11-50 employees and was recognised as a 2024 Australian Museum Eureka Prize finalist. Strategic momentum in 2025 includes a relaunch of the House certification with refreshed perks, the introduction of STEM Family Workshops extending the offering to parents, and online workshop archives adding an on-demand delivery channel. The initiative is best characterised as a maturing non-profit PD platform rather than a high-growth commercial venture.

Name

Little Scientists Australia

Legal name

FROEBEL Australia Limited

Website

https://littlescientists.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Little Scientists Australia, operated under FROEBEL Australia Limited, delivers inquiry-based STEM professional development workshops and certification to early childhood educators across Australia, funded by the Australian Government in partnership with Germany's Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Professional Development

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM Research & Inquiry Programs (Research Mentorship, Science Fair Prep) (EDAMABAC)

Keywords

• Early childhood STEM education
• Professional development workshops
• Inquiry-based learning
• STEM certification programs
• Early childhood teacher training

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney, New South Wales

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Workshop Fees: Revenue generated from in-person and online professional development workshops for early childhood educators. Standard workshops are priced at $215 per participant with discounted rates for certified Little Scientists Houses at $195. In-service workshop fees are determined by number of tickets and quoted separately.
2. Government Funding: Little Scientists is funded by the Australian Government as a not-for-profit initiative. This public funding supports the organization's mission to champion inquiry-based STEM education nationwide.
3. STEM Resources Shop: Sale of high-quality resources to help early childhood educators and services facilitate inquiry-based STEM learning. Orders are dispatched from Sydney via Australia Post.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Little Scientists Australia delivers inquiry-based STEM professional development workshops for early childhood educators through in-person, in-service, and online formats across 10+ STEM topics (Water, Engineering, Air, Chemical Reactions, Computer Science, Design & Technologies, Human Body, Mathematics, Optics, Acoustics), each paired with specific pedagogical approaches. The organization also operates the Little Scientists House certification program (Australia's only STEM certification for early learning services), the Early STEM Education Awards, STEM mentoring, and an online STEM resources shop, with all programs aligned with the National Quality Framework and Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Product overview

Little Scientists Australia operates as a not-for-profit organization (an initiative of FROEBEL Australia Limited in cooperation with Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation, Germany), funded by the Australian Government. The company offers a portfolio of professional development products for early childhood educators comprising in-person workshops (delivered across Australia by trainers), in-service workshops (on-site training for teams), and online workshops/webinars. The workshop portfolio includes 10+ STEM topics (Water, Engineering, Air, Chemical Reactions, Computer Science, Design & Technologies, Human Body, Mathematics, Optics, Acoustics), each paired with specific pedagogical approaches. Beyond workshops, the company provides the Little Scientists House certification program (Australia's only STEM certification for early learning services), the Early STEM Education Awards, STEM mentoring, free resources, and a STEM shop. All offerings align with the National Quality Framework, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, Early Years Learning Framework 2.0, and My Time, Our Place. The target audience is early childhood educators and teachers working with children aged 0-8 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person STEM Workshops Hands-on, play-based professional development workshops delivered by experienced Little Scientists trainers at venues across Australia, covering 10+ STEM topics each paired with a pedagogical subject. Each workshop is 3.5 hours long and capped at 20 attendees.
• In-Service STEM Workshops On-site professional development where an expert Little Scientists trainer travels to an early childhood service to deliver chosen workshops for the entire educator team. Custom quotations are provided based on group size, lowering travel costs and building team cohesion.
• Online STEM Workshops Live online workshops covering topical STEM subjects and panel discussions with expert guests, accessible nationally regardless of location. Designed for early childhood educators seeking flexible professional development.
• STEM Hours (Webinars) Online webinar sessions providing ongoing professional development and topical STEM education content for early childhood educators, featuring expert panels on current STEM subjects.
• Little Scientists House Certification Australia's only STEM certification program for early learning services. Services become certified by having two educators trained in two or more STEM topics and submitting a child-led STEM project, with $200 off in-service bookings and $20 discount on standard workshops as perks.
• STEM Family Workshops Family engagement workshops for parents and children to explore STEM together, typically held as evening events at early learning services.
• STEM Shop Online shop offering high-quality resources to help early childhood educators and services facilitate inquiry-based STEM learning, with orders dispatched from Sydney via Australia Post.
• STEM Mentoring Mentoring sessions provided to certified Little Scientists House services to support ongoing STEM education development and project work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 early childhood services certified as Little Scientists Houses
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FROEBEL Australia LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLittle Scientists is an initiative of FROEBEL Australia Limited. FROEBEL holds a licence to exploit the Little Scientists IP in Australia. Little Scientists is described as 'a not-for-profit initiative of FROEBEL' and operates under this organizational umbrella.
• Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation (Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLittle Scientists is delivered in cooperation with the 'Haus der kleinen Forscher' Foundation in Germany. This international partnership provides access to proven pedagogical approaches and workshop methodologies developed by the German foundation.
• Education Technology SpecialistsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOne of the Early STEM Education Award sponsors providing 20% discount on Bee-Bots and early childhood range to the Little Scientists community using discount code 'littlescientists25'.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Australian Academy of Science - Primary Connections: An Australian STEM professional development and curriculum program for primary teachers, backed by a national scientific institution. It competes for the same teacher-PD budget in Australian schools and early learning settings and represents the most direct government-backed STEM PD alternative.
• Haus der kleinen Forscher Foundation: The German foundation that owns the Little Scientists IP and pedagogical methodology. It is the direct international parent/sister organization delivering the same inquiry-based STEM professional development model at much larger scale across Germany and other European countries, making it the most directly comparable entity.
• Mad Science: An international franchise delivering hands-on science workshops, assemblies, and after-school programs for children. Operates under a similar workshop-based, in-person delivery model targeting early childhood and primary-aged children, making it a direct global comparable for STEM enrichment delivery.
• FROEBEL Australia Limited: The parent organisation under which Little Scientists operates as a not-for-profit initiative. FROEBEL Australia provides early childhood education services and holds the licence to exploit the Little Scientists IP in Australia, making it the immediate organisational parent and most closely comparable operator.

Broad incumbents

• CSIRO Education and Outreach: CSIRO runs national STEM education programs for schools and educators, including teacher professional development and student-facing initiatives. As Australia's national science agency, it is a broad incumbent with overlapping educator-PD offerings and significant government backing.
• Questacon: Australia's National Science and Technology Centre, delivering STEM education programs, exhibits, and teacher professional development nationwide. While broader in scope (museum, exhibits, K-12), it competes in the STEM engagement and educator-training space and represents a large, government-backed incumbent.

Emerging players

• Little Medical School: An international STEM enrichment franchise delivering hands-on health and science workshops for children aged 4-14, often through partnerships with schools and community organisations. While focused on health/life science rather than general STEM, the operating model — workshops, educator training, and program licensing — is structurally similar to Little Scientists.
• Code Club Australia: A volunteer-led not-for-profit running free coding clubs for children aged 9-13 in Australia. It is an emerging, niche player in the broader STEM-for-kids ecosystem that overlaps with Little Scientists on the digital/computational thinking side but at older age cohorts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/littlescientistsaustralia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/little-scientists-australia
• Instagraminstagram.com/littlescientistsaustralia

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Little Scientists Australia