Pupils from Frome in Somerset took top prize in the South West Bloodhound K’Nex Challenge, held at the University of Bath on Wednesday 1 July. Tom Howard and Callum Rush, aged 11 from Selwood school, had two hours to solve a building challenge using the popular construction kit.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Pupils from Frome in Somerset took top prize in the South West Bloodhound K’Nex Challenge, held at the University of Bath on Wednesday 1 July.
Tom Howard and Callum Rush, aged 11 from Selwood school, had two hours to solve a building challenge using the popular construction kit.
They had to build a hangar for the Bloodhound car that holds the landspeed record, competing against teams from across the South West. They will now go on to the national finals in September at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.
The contest was part of The Big Bang South West Innovation Awards 2009, the biggest exhibition of science and technology school projects in the South West, hosted at the University of Bath.
Speaking before the contest, Callum Rush said: “I love building things. I’m really pleased we got through to the regional competition - I hope we win this one too!”
The judges were impressed by the thinking skills shown by the Selwood team and the level of detail in their construction. The hangar included floodlights and an in-built ventilation system.
Pupils at the event were treated to a circus science show that used juggling, unicycles, and more to explain how forces work, and discovered the science behind air-propelled dragsters, robotics and wind turbines.
A chat show with STEM professionals ( science, technology, engineering and mathematics ) from Rolls-Royce and a host of other companies gave pupils and their teachers the chance to quiz them about their jobs and career paths.
The STEM professionals from up to 30 companies and organisations across the South West judged the K’nex Challenge.
Event organiser John Trickett of Wessex SETPOINT, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said: “The Big Bang is about bringing young people together to excite and enthuse them about science, as well as celebrating the hard work that has gone into their school projects.”
Organisations supporting the event include: STEM South West, Engineering Technology Board, Young Engineers, British Science Association and Rolls-Royce.
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