22nd May 2018
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is at present the largest provider of education and careers support to school pupils. CalaChem, as a chemical and engineering company are extremely proud to work with STEM to provide education and support to school pupils of all ages. We are passionate about our younger generation and encouraging their already curious minds on the STEM subject matters so were delighted to be invited to take part on a two-day event at The Helix.
This two-day event took place on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th May. Day one was set up for S1 pupils of the local Falkirk area secondary schools and day two was open for families and children of all ages to attend.
Our Challenge – The Great Egg-scape
We came up with a challenge that had one main goal – PROTECT YOUR EGG.
We asked all participants if they could construct something using the materials we had provided that would protect an ordinary egg from smashing. There would be three different heights to drop the egg from – the higher the drop height the more points available.
At the S1 day we gave a cost to the materials and asked the pupils to only buy materials that would amount to £5 meaning they had to work together to think about what they wanted to buy and how they would use what they bought. After one drop we asked them to review what they had bought and what they made to house the egg and if possible what improvements they could make to better protect the egg. The family day gave us the opportunity to carry out the activity differently. We allowed the younger kids to browse the materials and use what they wanted to protect their egg.
The two-day event did not disappoint, it was filled with fun, laughter, learning, planning, problem solving and teamwork. We had some fantastic creations from the pupils and lots of comp
etitiveness between the teams.
We hope all the pupils and kids who visited us had a great day.