A group of our Year 9 students enjoyed a day of hands on STEM activities at the Merseyside STEM Challenge Day at Liverpool’s Hugh Baird College.
The day was designed to give students a taste of a range of popular STEM disciplines and careers like robotics, medicine and forensics. The aim was also to encourage teamwork with pairs of students from Queen’s working with pairs of students from the other schools attending the day. The students who took part from Queen’s are those who will be studying GCSE Computer Science next year.
There were three activities throughout the day. The teams programmed Lego Mindstorm robots to drive, turn, detect an obstacle and turn to avoid them - much as new technologies like AI hoovers, mowers or even cars need to be successful.
The teams also used the same software that is used by the police to create e-fit images and discussed the issues of bias, leading questions and psychology that need to be considered in forensic science. Students created their own e-fit after the teachers attending the day staged ‘the perfect crime’ - stealing a mobile phone while the class was distracted by Mrs McKeirnan carelessly dropping her keys. Most of the e-fits were a fair likeness but the activities definitely highlighted the challenges of creating such images from memory - particularly where witnesses may have had a limited view of the criminal.
Finally the teams had a crash course in medical diagnostic, including using equipment like stethoscopes, oxygen finger monitors and urine dipstick tests - Year 9 were quite relieved when they realised they were testing apple juice not actual urine!
A huge well done to Nia - her group won the robotic prize for the day and was presented with a trophy by the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside.
