Institution news
These projects had been specifically requested by the school to help them deliver the new computing curriculum. The award paid for a Crumble controller for each member of the club so they could design, build and wire up a series of working models and control them using a simple drag and drop programming language similar to Scratch.
The first project they tackled was to each construct an LED lighthouse and programme it with a flashing sequence of their choice. For the second project the students designed and made coloured spinners. Each student had to construct a mount to fit a motor, connect the motor to the controller and programme it to rotate forwards and backwards at different speeds. They then prepared cardboard discs in a variety of colours and patterns, mounted them on the motors and investigated the colour mixing effects.
The third project was to make a set of LED traffic lights, wire them up and programme them to come on in sequence. Some of the students were by now sufficiently confident to have a go at using a proximity sensor to check if a ‘car’ had arrived before changing from red, and getting two sets of traffic lights to work in sequence with one another. The students’ fourth and final challenge was to come up with their own design of nightlight, monitoring the output from a light dependent resistor to switch the light on when it gets dark.
When asked for comment, Caroline said,
“It was wonderful to win this award for my after school STEM club. It enabled the children to build real working models and then control them using a computer, which is really exciting but beyond the scope of the club’s usual budget. It was very encouraging to find that the activity appealed equally to girls and boys, as it would be nice to attract more girls into STEM. It wasn’t difficult to apply for the grant, and the Awards Committee were really helpful and encouraging. I think a lot more schools and STEM clubs could benefit from this kind of assistance once they become aware of the scheme.”
The Gloucestershire club is hugely popular, and students have been waiting for years to be old enough to attend. This was the first time there were more girls than boys. A number of STEM Ambassadors from local engineering firm Renishaw help at the club, as well as former club members who are now in the sixth form. Many of the former club members are planning to go into engineering or STEM careers.
The club is run by IMechE Fellow Caroline Alliston, author of the Technology for Fun series of project books and teacher resources. If you are interested in finding out more about her educational engineering activities to inspire youngsters check out her website.