On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, the Science and Computing departments ran STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) days for Year 7. Pupils took part in 5 various sessions to hopefully develop their interest and skills in STEAM.
STEAM Day Safari: Pupils investigated what different creatures live in the school, looking at the pond and grassy areas. They used microscopes to catalogue the different things they found.
Chemistry - Elephant’s Toothpaste: Pupils observed a decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide and then recreated the effects using yeast.
Rocket Science: Teams competed to see who could make the rocket which went the furthest, considering the aerodynamics involved.
Art: Pupils learnt about some different artists who incorporate science into their works, before making a sketch or watercolour of their choice of plant or shell.
Micro Bit Orienteering: Pupils wrote the code to make a Micro Bit compass, before using it around the school in an orienteering challenge.
On Friday the 7th June, 12 students from Year 8 took part in the Better Able STEM day competition at the University of Greenwich, Medway Campus. They were split into pairs and put together with a pair from another Kent school to form a team of 4 to take part in different challenges. During the day they were assessed on how well they performed as well as how they worked as a team with people they had never met before. The challenges were:
E-Fit Challenge. Using the same facial recognition software used by 90% of police forces in the UK, they had to create an image of a criminal after witnessing a crime (a teacher stealing a mobile phone). This competition was won by a team including Jac Lopez and Ivy Mace.
Robotics Challenge. Using a lego mindstorm robot, they had to write a program to navigate it through a course, using its infrared and ultrasonic sensors. This competition was won by a team including Isla Black and Rachel Elms.
Medical Diagnostics Challenge. The teams worked together to try to diagnose two patients with different medical conditions that appeared in their casualty department. This involved testing “urine” samples, evaluating brain functions and examining x-rays.This competition was won by a team including Martha Campbell and Jana Withersova.
Vehicle. They designed, built and raced a simple electric vehicle in a drag race.
Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the various competitions.
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