Cutting edge kids
This week, selected Year 5 and 6 students were invited to attend a day that models a real STEM conference at Griffith University. By being part of the 'Cutting Edge for Kids Conference', our students and Mrs Pinnington attended a keynote lecture followed by three hands-on STEM challenge workshops presented by STEM Ambassador students from local secondary schools.
Some of the workshops our students participated in were:
- Rube Golberg machine:
- Students will collaborate in small groups or a large team to design a Rube Goldberg machine. They will be supplied with a variety of materials to complete a challenge to design a contraption that allows for chain- reactions
- Trampoline:
- Students will observe transfers in energy as they work together to construct mini trampolines. Students will be challenge to achieve the highest bounce of a given object.
- Bye Bye Bycatch:
- Wherever there is fishing, there is bycatch—the incidental capture of non-target species such as dolphins, marine turtles and seabirds. Modern fishing gear, often undetectable by sight and extremely strong, is very efficient at catching the desired fish species—as well as anything else in its path. A staggering amount of marine life is hauled up with the catch, and then discarded overboard. Despite new technologies and industry recognition of the issue, bycatch is still a major problem. Students will design an alternative to super trawlers, exploring sustainable seafood practices that protect non-target species.
- Brilliant Bridge Building:
- Explore the engineering behind constructing the ultimate bridge. Get it right or the whole thing could come tumbling down!!
- Awesome Airways:
- Take a long, deep breath for this workshop that explores the respiratory system and our ‘Awesome Airways”!
- Supply Run:
- Map a path to deliver goods across nations while being careful of the routes you choose. Think outside the box to find the friendliest and fastest pathways in this mathematical challenge!
This is a very popular conference each year and our students were very appreciative to be able to attend. This was a fantastic opportunity to work collaboratively in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths challenges with students from other schools while building team relationships with Year 5/6 students from CRSS.
