Ks2 enjoyed a virtual STEM glider challenge. We watched a video showing the many different types of jobs engineers can be involved in and the skills that they need: teamwork, problem solving, creativity, innovation, communication skills.

Did you know that engineers are needed for robotics, cyber security, building design, aircraft and rocket, in fact everything?! We learnt how many people are needed to design a bottle, know what material to make it out of, know how much fizz to put into the drink without it exploding and so on – all jobs that engineers do.

Once we had learnt about the main elements of a glider, we set about designing and making them in teams.

Once we had made the gliders, we tried them out in class to see which design would glide the furthest. Here are a few of our attempts. https://youtu.be/9OrdJbDzJhE

It was good fun.

Finally we were asked a few questions about our STEM experience. Below is a quick summary of how we felt.

None            A little           Quite a bit          Lots/All

How much fun did you have?                                                              4                   2.                    17.                     7

Did you learn anything new?                                                               6.                  16.                     4.                      4

Can you do things now that you couldn’t do before?                         11.                   6.                      6.                     7

Do you understand what you did today?                                            10                   8                     10                      12

How much do you know about what an engineer does?                    3.                   13                     7                        7

Would you like to be an engineer when you’re older?                      19                     3                      4                        4