In celebration of Science week, Kildare College held its inaugural STEM Fair. This included a ‘Pop Up Arcade’ featuring video games coded by students, a drone exhibition and a Flinders University presentation on nanotechnology; however, the main event of the STEM Fair was the Year 9 cohort presenting their Semester One major project. Tasked to design a device to help someone with limited mobility, students had to research and investigate a disability or device of their choice. This freedom allowed students to choose a topic of their own interest or for someone they knew. This provided a diverse range of topics including bottle opener for arthritis suffers, writing aids for children and a dog collar to help blind canines.
Student’s used skills in Computer Aided Design, 3D Printing, concept design, prototyping and engineering principals to complete their project. The knowledge of an upcoming STEM Fair provided an added motivation to complete their project to a standard they may not have otherwise done if only submitted to their teacher.
During the STEM Fair the projects were set up in a trade show format with students standing by their final prototype and posters explaining how their design solved the intended problem. Year 8 students were invited to listen to their presentation and vote for designs across categories of most creative, most functional, and salesmanship. Year 9 students quickly realised that a good design alone cannot guarantee a vote, with many learning the importance of marketing their ideas when answering questions.
The Year 8 students came to the STEM Fair with the knowledge it will be them who will present their work in 12 months’ time.
Jarrod Carter
Director of Digital Learning
