Stem Clubs Activities
The Disappearing Cross
22nd November 2011
when Sodium Thiosuulfate is mixed with Hydrochloric Acid it produces Sulphur, also the solution goes cloudy.
The pupils this week were given the task of working out the rates of reaction for different concentrates of Hydrochloric acid when mixed with Sodium Thiosulfate.
The pupils were split into pairs and had the following equipment, one piece of paper with a thick black cross on it, a conical flask, a measuring beaker, and a timer.
The pupils had to measure out 25cm3 of Sodium Thiosulfate into the flask,(which was placed on the cross, to this was added the fist 25cm3 concentrate of 0.2M Hydrochloric Acid, the boys then timed how long it took before they could not see the black cross on the paper, the results were recorded.
this experiment was repeated of the following concentrates of Acid: 0.4M, 0.6M, 0.8M, and 1.0M.
Each Concentrate was repeated twice to gain an average.
when all the results were collated they were plotted onto a graph.
the boys enjoyed the experiment very much.
The Sun Project
16th November 2011
The Sun Project is a lunch club for girls who are interested in anything that is related to the Sun.
We aim to involve them in the development of their own projects, which range from the use and testing of photovoltaic cells, using solar energy as a heat source, to any solar physics/astronomy topics thay might wish to research.
At the moment, the girls have been involved in researching and designing a Sun dial, a solar water heater, a solar oven, and several objects that use PV cells (such as a water feature for the school’s pond, a solar pwered scare crow for the school vegetable patch, a solar powered boat).
Making DNA from sweets
14th November 2011
Having introduced a forensic Science theme we decided to investigate how SOCO’s can collect evidence that can be used for DNA extraction to convict people of crime. We extracted some of our own DNA from our mouth and then used sweets to represent the DNA molecule.
Jelly Bean Towers
10th November 2011
This week in STEM club we had to see which team could build the tallest jelly bean tower. It was fun but very challenging. To make the tower we had 1x Paper plate, Jelly beans, Cocktail sticks and 1 post-it-note. During the time that we made the tower we had to work together, stick to rules and instructions and reach joint decisions. Look at our masterpieces.
My idea for a waterproof music device/radio
06th November 2011
I am thinking about designing a radio, to sue in the shower. I was originally going to build a radio that will work underwater, but radio waves do no travel clearly underwater. So my idea is now to build a sound device to use in the shower. I was think possibly a waterproof mp3 player, Or a you could connect up an ipod to some speakers insinde a waterproof container.
Mini beast hotel
04th November 2011
Pupils were involved in the designing and building of a mini-beast hotel for the school garden. This STEM activity involved ranges of activities were students had to research mini-beasts and their habitats and then design an ideal home for them to live in. The aim was to encourage as many mini-beasts as possible into our beautiful school garden.
Having considered what recycled resources would be available, both in and outside the garden, which included pots, bricks, twigs, leaves, bamboo etc the students set to work designing their ideal mini-beast hotel. We decided that it had to be ‘Hilton style’ if we were to encourage the most classiest of insects into our garden. We then collated all our ideas and set to work on building one. In groups, students were responsible for one specific pallet and had to fill it with resources that they knew would appeal to certain mini-beasts. There had to be a range of conditions available and students were very specific about the types of resources that they used based of their knowledge of what insects like. It took six 90-minute lessons over the two days to complete but it looks amazing!
Popping Tubs
02nd November 2011
We looked at the reaction between water and Alka-seltzer. We put the Alka-seltzer into a film canister, added water and then put on the lid. The popper rocketed around the lab. Each group looked at changing a different variable :- they are amount of alka-seltzer we used, the volume of water added and the shape of the container. We are going to continue are investigation in the Spring Term. This time the group want to improve the investigation by timing how long it takes for the rocket to take off and to investigate another variable – the size of the alka-seltzer (E.g. Whole tables, half tablets and powdered tablets. Hope to see you in the Spring Term.
F1 in Schools
01st November 2011
Following on from our success at the regional Big Bang Fair in 2010, we have been working hard at various other Technology competitions in school and have been running the F1 in Schools competition. We had three teams entered to in the regional final at Newcastle University, two year 9 teams and one year 11.
The students worked extremely hard on the project, spending many nights after school and even coming in during the christmas holidays to ensure their project was finished. The students were involved in researching into aerodynamics, promoting their team, deciding upon several design ideas for minature F1 cars, then beginning to make the cars. Many hours were spent sanding and finishing the Balsa wood cars after they had been made on the CNC router, with the students putting great care and attention into everything they did.
When we arrived at the regional competition on the 1st February 2011, we knew we were against tough competition and the teams hoped all of their hard work would pay off. All three teams involved had a fantastic day and presented their work fantastically to the sets of judges they encountered.
We found out at the end of the day that the Year 11 team had won the Rookie class of the regional competition and would therefore be taking part in the National competition in March, so the hard work would start to develop the car and ensure the team was ready to compete nationally.
The 6 year 11 students worked extremely hard to develop their car, modifying their ProDesktop drawings and testing their new designs on the Virtual Wind Tunnel to find out which would be best. They then took this new design to the National competition in March, along with the rest of the school teams competing in the Big Bang Fair and the car was the third fastest in the UK. The students were delighted with this and they then went on to win third place in the Rookie Class.
The team has already begun to work on their entry for next year and we are hoping to build on the success encountered during this F1 in Schools season.
GT in Schools National winners trip to Jaguar
01st November 2011
Our GT in Schools National winners attended the Jaguar Plant in Castle Bromwich, as guests as part of the prizes they were awarded at the Big Bang in March.
It was a early start, leaving College at 7am to arrive at Castle Bromwich with plenty of time to explore the factory and meet leading edge car designers. The students were very impressed by the fantastic technology and engineering that was demonstrated in the factory and would like to thank the staff for showing them a fantastic day!!
The Mclaren Challenge, Part 3, Testing and improving.
29th October 2011
At last, we completed the machines that we had worked so hard on over the last weeks. It was time to test them against each other, to see which car would win and would continue to Mclaren to compete against other.
After testing them with a mixed success rate, we set about improving the winner, and the team did this to such a point that the car competed with other cars made by collages.
STEM Activity Week 2011
21st October 2011
As part of our annual activity week within school we had a one day focus on STEM activities.
The Year 7 pupils took part in one activity in the morning session and one in the afternoon.
We had activities which focused on each of the aspects of STEM and the pupils chose their favourites.
The activities were Parachutes (Engineering), Playground Design (Maths). Bath Bomb and Lip Balm Production (Chemistry) and Bridge Building (Science). Finally Badge Making and Catapults (Technology).
The day was a huge success!
Ballista Challenge
21st October 2011
Whitworth Community High Schools new STEM club opened with a challenge set for the pupils, rather like a mini scrapheap challenge, they had a set time to design and make a device that would successfully bomb a model castle from a minimum distance of 3 metres! Pupils set about designing and testing their ballistas with varying degrees of success. One team looked like they were going to run away with the challenge but at the last minute they broke their device through over testing! The winning team managed to hit the castle with 8 out of ten strikes during the final test. Everyone had a fun evening and are looking forward to more in the future.
