The STEM Festival saw over 310 Year 6 students from 13 different primary schools take part in a range of STEM activities.
The aims of the festival were:
- To provide the opportunity for year 6 students from local primary schools to enhance their interest, knowledge and learning in STEM subjects.
- To provide the opportunity for year 6 students to try activities and experiments they would not have the opportunity to try in their primary school.
- To create a fun environment where year 6 pupils from different schools can meet and interact with new people; increasing their confidence in new situations.
- To provide an opportunity for the TCC student volunteers to share their learning and passion of STEM with the year 6 students in attendance, in turn enhancing their own knowledge of the subject area and increasing their confidence.
The STEM Festival consisted of 9 activity stations in the hall followed by a STEM quiz hosted by Year 12 students. Each school got the chance to take part in all the activity stations and 2 representatives from each school took part in the quiz cheered on by their classmates.
All the activities provided the opportunity for the students to enhance their interest, knowledge and learning in STEM subjects. It also provided the opportunity to try activities and use resources they do not have access to in their primary school.
A selection of the activities included:
- Flying tea bags
- A heat experiment
- Finger prints
- Popping canisters
- Identifying objects under microscopes
- Optical illusions
In addition to the benefits to the year 6 students who attended, the STEM festival was also supported by 30 Year 10 and 7 Year 12 from Thurston Community College. These students gained confidence and shared their enthusiasm for STEM by demonstrating and explaining the activities they were leading and writing and hosting a quiz for the guest students to take part in.
