Academy sets engineering challenges children can do at home
Published: 13 May, 2020
The Royal Academy of Engineering has launched a new Engineers in the Making competition for school children aged 7 to 14, across the UK. The Academy is looking for budding engineers to take on challenges and show off their creativity, imagination and problemsolving skills.
The Academy’s education team have chosen their most practical, hands-on activities to encourage students to try tinkering, investigating and problem finding and solving, reflecting real-life engineering challenges. All activities use things you can find in your home and have simple instructions.
A new challenge will be set every two weeks and students will be asked to send in photos or a short video along with one or two sentences to explain what they did. The best entries can choose from a selection of prizes including a power and play K.Nex set or a robot to build and programme. Parents, carers and teachers are invited to send in competition entries on behalf of the students to education@raeng.org.uk or share them on Twitter by tagging @EduRAEng and using the hashtag #EngineersInTheMaking. For further information please visit: https://www.raeng.org.uk/education/stem-at-home/competitionengineers-in-the-making
In addition to the competition, the Academy has compiled all its Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) challenges in one place for use by teachers working remotely with their students or by parents home-schooling their children.
The challenges vary from making plastic and exploding volcanoes to STEM projects that invite young learners to problem find, problem solve and get creative using materials they have at home. Typical items required include a torch, scissors, glue, cornflour, paper and cardboard.
Videos on YouTube guide parents, teachers and students through the challenges and offer support and suggestions for some of the activities. The challenges are aimed at upper primary and lower secondary but can be easily adapted and used with older and younger children.
