Energy Quest – Year 7 STEM event

This year’s STEM programme has kicked off with a whistle-stop tour of what it would be like to be an engineer. Hosted by Vicky Glover from Engineering UK, an interactive and stimulating workshop was delivered to all Year 7 pupils at  School on Monday 9^th January.

The workshop began for pupils by them, undertaking quizzes to discover what type of engineer they could be . Are they a maker? A Humanitarian? A Designer? Or maybe a Pioneer? Did they have interests in space travel, sustainability or maybe robotics?

Then, the scenario for the challenge was set. Carlotta is exploring the woods with only a few necessities in her backpack but really needs to charge her phone to be able to call for help! Can the boys help her out?

In small teams, the pupils had access to wires, pieces of metal and oranges and were tasked with producing the highest voltage possible. Using their knowledge of electric currents and their competitive natures they connected the circuits to a voltmeter and found they were able to make electrical energy from fruit!  Some budding engineers even discovered that by adding in more oranges in series to the circuit they could transfer more energy.

To round off the session the pupils were tasked with coming up with a profession or job that had absolutely no connection to STEM, only to discover that STEM is important everywhere, from working in a supermarket to driving an ice cream truck.

The hall was buzzing with enthusiasm from all of the Year 7 groups throughout the day. The talent and hard-working nature of the boys was showcased and many will be keen to find out what’s next on Mr Lam’s STEM calendar! RS