The dust hadn't long settled from the
Creator Fair, when we got an email from Jo Cox, Senior Leader STEM, of Redmoor Academy saying that she had seen our Tweets about the Fair, and to ask us if we would be interested in going to their Big Bang (aka the Stem Selection Box) which introduces STEM subjects to KS2 and KS3 pupils. For anyone who doesn't know, the main
Big Bang Fair "is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people in the UK. Everything we do is aimed at showing young people (primarily aged 7-19) just how many exciting and rewarding opportunities there are out there for them with the right experience and qualifications".
Of course inspiring the next generation of engineers (and other STEM related careers) is important to us, so we decided to take along some
Fizzbits, and a racetrack which we laser cut from
Perspex, and have a short practical demonstration about capacitors, and how we could use them as a battery.
We took along some cardboard templates, specially designed for us by
The Crafty Robot, and had great fun assembling, racing and showing them off.
We did get time to have a look round at the other fun things,
Bletchley Park, home of the code breakers, were there with an interactive encryption puzzle, and
Rob Wix with an excellent demonstration of pedal power.
Vex Robotics with their very hands on robotics display was a big hit, as was the #MeArm.
I think (judging by the sound) though that the biggest draw for the pupils was making their own Reindeer caller, a very simple lollipop stick and rubber band piece.
Importantly, apart form the fun factor, all of the pupils we spoke to seemed to take something away from the event. From those who said they were considering making different choices at G.C.S.E to those younger pupils from feeder schools who said they were looking forward to being able to work on more similar projects once they got to the Academy.
In all 550 KS3 pupils and 543 KS2 pupils, and an amazing 230 STEM leaders/helpers attended. Thank you Redmoor for having us, and please thank your wonderful student helpers (I've never seen such efficient tea making) for all the help with logistics, catering and support. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
You can see the rest of our images of the day
here.
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I think (judging by the sound) though that the biggest draw for the pupils was making their own Reindeer caller, a very simple lollipop stick and rubber band piece.
