Santa Explores STEM at the Science and Engineering Challenge

The Science and Engineering Challenge  is a nationwide outreach program for Years 9 and 10 students presented by the University of Newcastle in partnership with universities across Australia. It allows students to experience how science and engineering can help to solve real-world problems in a fun, competitive setting. 

On any one challenge day students work in teams of four students from eight different schools in a series of eight challenges. Some of these included designing and building a bridge: students construct a model bridge out of balsa wood and masking tape, which then has to support a railcar carrying increasingly heavy weights as it races across a test rig. The ‘Helter skelter shelter’ challenge has students design and construct towers constructed from common materials and then tested for strength and stability, through the use of weights and a shaking base which simulates an earthquake. The ‘Grasping at straws’ challenge involves designing a bionic hand – using PVC pipe, straws and string to build a hand and then control it to perform a series of tasks. Other challenges included designing and testing a Mars rover over uneven terrain, building a water wheel to investigate fluid dynamics and wiring up a circuit board to see how power stations distribute energy through a city.

Congratulations to all the teams and for their commendable results across the various challenges.

Rachele Rugiero
Dean of Gifted Education