Nearly 40 Year 5 students from Bar Hill Primary School visited Littleport and East Cambs Academy for a STEM outreach day with Morgan Sindall, to learn about the construction industry and the cutting-edge technology used to design new buildings. In addition to teaching young people about STEM in a fun, engaging way, Cambridge LaunchPad aims to improve their teamwork and communication skills and encourage them to develop creative solutions to solve problems.
Helen Clements, Community Investment Advisor at Morgan Sindall, said:
“It is important that we engage on STEM related activities that engage students from a young age, to ensure they understand the opportunities available to them in our industry. We all found it rewarding to see the participation from all the students and the teachers in building their eco houses and were impressed with the level of detail some of them went to.”
The students were challenged to design an ‘eco house’ modelled from rubbish and recycling, which got them thinking about sustainable materials and energy consumption, and creative ways to reduce this in everyday life. Many of the designs also included features to improve wheelchair accessibility, such as ramps and a lift. The teachers were so inspired by the incredible designs, that they got involved and built their own house too!
The two teams that created the most innovative and environmentally-friendly designs were selected to attend a prize trip that will take place in July, alongside Year 4–6 students from other schools and colleges that are taking part in Cambridge LaunchPad.
Molly Askham, STEM Outreach Assistant from Form the Future CIC, said:
“The students were given an outline of their task ahead of time so that they could start to design and plan their buildings. The Project Day then gave them a great opportunity to take what they had learnt in the classroom and apply it to a real-life, hands on task. Speaking to the students on the day, they had really learnt the benefit of being able to adapt their plan and work as a team in order to construct a more successful eco house. The brief really allowed their imagination and creatively to flow and it was great to see their designs come to life!”
If you’re interested in being involved with Cambridge LaunchPad next year, please get in touch at cambridge-launchpad@formthefuture.org.uk for more information.
