There may be a few Einsteins coming out of Goulburn High after the school won a science and engineering challenge it also hosted on Thursday, November 21.
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About 130 students in years 7 and 8 at Goulburn, Crookwell, Yass and Murrumburrah high schools and Boorowa Central School took part.
Regional Development Australia Southern Inland (RDASI) project officer Camilla Staff said it was a fantastic learning experience, "focused on building students' awareness of the real-world application of the STEM skills they were learning at school".
"It inspired students to choose science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects in their remaining school years," she said.
Peter Fullagar and Renee Thomas from the University of Newcastle led the activities. Mr Fullagar said he thought the day went really well and further explained what the challenge was about.
Students gained a greater understanding of STEM concepts "by working as a team to find solutions to problems they were tasked within their activities," Mr Fullagar said.
Students were divided into separate sections to complete seven activities. In the 'Get Over It' challenge, they had to build a bridge strong enough to support a trolley carrying weights.
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In the 'String Along' challenge, students were given a board pinned with townsthat they had to connect using the shortest length of string possible.
The 'Get a Grip' challenge saw students create a bionic hand that could move its fingers and thumb.
In the 'Mars Buggy' challenge, students built a buggy with a suspension system to carry a load across a bumpy and rough planet surface.
In the 'Earthquake' challenge, students had to build a tower strong enough to withstand static and seismic conditions using common materials.
The 'Build It' challenge required students to build a chair strong enough to support two 3D-printed pets, sitting by themselves, together, and jumping on it.
The final challenge was 'Light Comms', where students designed a coded communications system using coloured lights to send and receive messages.
Results were tallied and Goulburn High School was the overall winner, followed by Murrumburrah, Yass, Crookwell and Boorowa.
Crookwell Rotary, Goulburn Rotary, Goulburn Mulwaree Rotary and Goulburn Argyle Rotary all lent a helping hand on the day.
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Burney Wong
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
I love sport. You can reach me at burney.wong@austcommunitymedia.com.au or on 0437 291 518.
