On Tuesday 25th January 2022, all Year 7 students took part in a 1 hour STEM activity. This was hosted by our former School Captain, Richard Adamson, who currently works at GSK as a mechanical engineer. The session began with Richard explaining his journey into engineering since leaving SJWMS, followed by an introduction to STEM and the engineering approach to building structures. Students were then put into groups and asked to work together to build the tallest tower out of raw spaghetti and marshmallows. Those who built the tallest structure were rewarded with certificates and geometry sets. The session concluded with some career advice.
Overall, the event was a great success. As demonstrated by the following:
- 92% of Year 7 students learned something new
- 48% of Year 7 students are now considering a STEM-related career
What did the students learn?
- I learned the importance of good communication. If you have good communication, anything is possible. If you don’t have any communication, or bad communication, you won’t get anywhere.
- I learned what engineering is about
- I learned what you do as an engineer
- I learnt that bridges that have to hold a lot of weight use a triangle design to help support the weight as triangles are the strongest shape.
- I learned that triangles are the strongest shape and that’s why they are used in famous buildings and structures.
