Last week, Tranby was buzzing with excitement as students from year 7 and 8 took part in our annual STEM Day – a full day dedicated to exploring the wonders of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths in creative, hands-on ways.
We were delighted to welcome the Newcastle University STEM Outreach Team, who brought a high-energy dose of Science Busking to kick things off. Think science meets street performance – with quick, captivating experiments designed to wow and inspire. From mind-bending materials to explosive reactions, students were left wide-eyed and full of questions.
Pupils rotated through a series of workshops designed to challenge their thinking and fire up their problem-solving skills:
Code Cracking and Crime Scene Investigation put students in the shoes of forensic scientists and detectives. Using clues, analysis, and logic, they worked in teams to solve complex puzzles and uncover ‘whodunnits’.
Fractals explored the beauty of mathematical patterns in nature – with students learning how repeating shapes and self-similarity can be found in everything from snowflakes to broccoli (who knew?!).
Our brilliant visitors from Connexin led the Smart School sessions, inspiring students to imagine what a truly futuristic school might look like. Their challenge? To design clever, responsive technologies that would improve everyday school life. From odour-detecting toilets to smart lunch delivery systems, the ideas were as practical as they were imaginative – Silicon Valley, take note!
Science Challenge saw students take to the school grounds in colour-coded teams, denoting protons, neutrons and electrons and racing to find the correct number of subatomic particles to make elements like boron, oxygen, and more. This energetic session brought chemistry to life - quite literally - as pupils dashed to around to be the first to correctly model the atom shown when given only the atomic number and atomic mass.
The day was a fantastic success, with students demonstrating curiosity, creativity and real STEM spark. A huge thank you to Mrs Saxby-Knaggs for organising the day and to all the staff involved in running or supervising a workshop. Special thanks to the teams from Newcastle University and Connexin for helping make science so unforgettable.