STEM Day 2017 Posted on: 9 Mar 2017
On Friday 17th February Years 7, 8 and 9 were involved in our annual STEM Day and what a fantastic day they had!
We arranged for the Royal Institution (Ri) to bring a ‘Christmas’ style lecture to Year 7 and 8. Entitled ‘Feel the Power’ the presentation was about electricity and it was amazing! There was a HUGE explosion at the end and the pupils were enthralled (and we managed to not set the fire alarm off – bonus!)
The show was fully interactive and described the history of electrical discoveries in and around the Ri. The children were shown the ‘Gherkin’ light bulb – a primitive light bulb made by electrifying a pickled gherkin and the carbon arc lamp, producing a very bright light.
The day was a hive of activity and creativity. There was ‘en-mass engagement with the STEM subjects, largely via very creative means. Year 7 and 8 pupils designed inventions, made electrical wire sculptures and researched renewable energies in order to solve an island energy problem. One of the more creative inventions was a pair of high heels especially created for Mrs Crosby which turned into flat shoes at the end of a night out – brilliant!
Year 9 pupils undertook some very difficult calculations to see how much energy our building could be wasting and what steps we could take to try and prevent this; helping to support the environment and our resources for learning.
We are going to follow this up with a ‘STE@M’ Club (the @ representing arts; a nod to the fact that we need a lot of creativity in STEM). This opportunity will be offered to Year 9 pupils to see if we can build upon the great work they did during STEM day and hopefully allow them some responsibility to make the Academy more ‘eco friendly’ and less wasteful.
There was a wonderful, calm but creative atmosphere in the classrooms and this was all down to the enthusiasm and professionalism of the teaching and support staff.
