Fifty local primary schools from Bolton, Bury, Warrington, Chorley and North Manchester enjoyed a morning of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) activities at Bolton School Girls’ Division.
Each school brought along a team of four Year 6 pupils who had a special interest in these subjects. Girls and boys were set three challenges during the course of the morning. Task One, focussing on technology and engineering, was a 40-minute challenge to design a model moon lander using a variety of modelling materials. The pupils set about this task after watching a short introduction from a jet propulsion laboratory expert based at NASA. He explained how equipment and vehicles are designed to ensure astronauts land safely on the moon and Mars. Teams produced a variety of innovative solutions to this task, considering astronaut comfort, protection and a cushioned landing. Teams presented eye catching landers with all sorts of logos and messages.
The Science aspect of the STEM-day considered the importance of towers and high structures in our world. Pupils were tasked with building the highest tower they could, using only paper straws and blue-tack. This challenge was met with considerable excitement and ingenuity, with some of the towers reaching nearly 2 metres tall!
The third task, the maths part of the competition, consisted of a space-themed logic puzzle and a very challenging cross-number puzzle.
Head of Outreach in the Girls’ Division of Bolton School, Jon Hitchin said: ‘It has been a hugely enjoyable morning and it has been wonderful to see our Great Hall filled with children fully absorbed in some testing STEM challenges. We have been very impressed with the team-work, determination and creativity that was displayed by all of the teams!’
At the end of the event, when all the points had been totted up, Garrett Hall Primary School from Tyldesley was announced as the overall winners with Pikes Lane Primary School coming in second, Devonshire Road third, Hardy Mill fourth and St Saviour’s fifth.
You can view a gallery of photos from the morning here:
