A group of 12 BES science enthusiasts from Year 9 were given the fantastic opportunity to take part in a Science and Technology Challenge Day held at Shrewsbury College yesterday.
The programme for the event was designed to raise enthusiasm for STEM subjects, with the aim of encouraging more young people to consider studying them at college and university.
Working together in teams of three, students got to grips with a range of different activities to give them an insight into some of the topics they could go on to study, such as robotics and engineering.
The first task was to design and construct a simple battery-powered vehicle, paying particular attention to power transmission, speed and torque. The cars were then put through their paces as each vehicle was timed between starting and finishing lines.
The E-FIT challenge came next and, after watching a simulated crime, students then got to use the latest facial recognition software to create a computer image of the thief, and understand problems associated with memory and facial recognition.
For the final challenge, each team was provided with a Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot, equipped with ultrasonic and infrared sensors, and were tasked with programming it to navigate a series of obstacles around a course.
Throughout the day, marks were awarded to each group on the basis of their team work, planning and overall finished design. BES won two of the three challenges, and Ben Arch, Evie Spencer and Taylor Beddoes even broke a record with their electric car, which covered two metres in around 2.5 seconds.
Head of Science, Ms Stanley, commented: “The trip was a great success and everyone got a lot out of the day. The students were completely engaged in what they were learning and also very driven to win the challenges.”
“It was good to see them pick up lots of new skills and get to try out specialist equipment and software they ordinarily wouldn’t have the chance to use. I’ll definitely be looking out for more days like this.”
Highlights of the STEM Challenge Day
