On Friday we held a STEM enrichment day for Year 6 pupils in the Senior School. We welcomed a number of external pupils who joined our current Year 6 for this exciting day which consisted of the following activities based around the solar system:

SCIENCE - Exploring the moon
Pupils investigated the origins of lunar meteorites using flour, cocoa and sprinkles and identified known lunar craters using a giant inflatable Moon! Pupils also had the opportunity to hold samples of lunar meteorite – rocks that were launched from the Moon and found their way to Earth after the lunar craters were formed.

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY - Pneumatic rocket challenge
Pupils made a pneumatic rocket model after being shown the design on CAD software and how it was printed off on our 3D printer.

 

 

COMPUTING - Codebreaking secret messages
Pupils took part in an interactive story where they helped the UK Space Agency send astronauts up to the International Space Station. However, a rival nation attempted to sabotage the mission by hacking into the shuttle's communications logs and changing / encrypting the essential codes and messages. 

Pupils then learned how to crack simple codes with trial and error, and to decrypt messages that had been encrypted using a Caesar Cipher, Bacon Cipher, and Rail Cypher.

Pupils demonstrated great enthusiasm, independent learning, and determination to bring the mission to a successful conclusion.

 

MATHS - The magnitude of space
Pupils learnt what units of measurements are used in astronomy for determining distances. They used astronomical units to scale planets in order to build a scale model of the universe.

 

A huge thank you to the E.A. Milne Centre for Astrophysics for lending us the inflatable moon and the samples of lunar meteorites!

The day ended with TASA (Tranby Aeronautics and Space Administration), where Mr Norris debuted the new rocket program. We were joined by pupils and parents to view the inaugural launch. Here is a video in slow motion of the launch.