The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is committed to promoting enthusiasm and understanding of STEM subjects in young people and, as part of this commitment, offers funding to support local education projects.
The IET Education Fund is an annual fund, and will be accepting bids for funding from 1 January 2012 to 9 March 2012 for projects taking place 1 May 2012 to 30 April 2013. Awards of up to £5000 can be offered. Eligible projects must help to engage UK-based students aged 5-19 with Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects, and projects must involve more than one educational establishment. For more information and an application pack, please go to http://www.theiet.org/fund
The Big Bang North East 2011
New College Durham, 12 July 2011
Book Now!
Join us for a celebration of science, engineering and maths in the North East
- Enter pupil project work to win cash prizes and places at The Big Bang 2012
- Bring a group of pupils for a fun, exciting and inspirational day out
Enter the Competition
Do your pupils have science, engineering or maths project work they want to show off? The Big Bang North East includes the regional heats for Young Engineers for Britain, CREST awards and the National Science & Engineering Competition. There is over £1500 prize money up for grabs and the best 10 projects will win a place at the prestigious national fair, The Big Bang 2012.
Find out more and register here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast
Visit the fair
Bring a group of pupils for a fun, FREE, day out. Visit the fair for a full, or half, day and enjoy an exciting science show, hands-on workshops and inspirational talks from young people who have succeeded in STEM. Groups will also tour the competition stands – perhaps it will inspire them enter The Big Bang North East in 2012!
Find out more and book here www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast
Electric car racing event – Wednesday 6 July 2011 at Croft Circuit, Darlington
Your school is invited to participate in this exciting Greenpower electric car racing event. Your school still has time to get involved, to design, build and race an electric car.
Greenpower is dedicated to promoting engineering and technology as a career option to students aged 9 to 25 in any form of full or part-time education. This is achieved through unique hands on projects to design, build and race an electric car, with the support of an engineering ambassador.
By taking part in the competition, all participants are given an insight into the real, tangible world of science and engineering. The competition is very popular, which stands as a testament to its unique approach to engineering and its ability to bring together and excite young people from a variety of different areas and backgrounds.
Not only does Greenpower approach the idea of science and engineering from a less mainstream direction than normal lessons or after school clubs, it also encourages creativity and most importantly enthusiasm and cooperation in problem solving invaluable skills for any young person. For the school getting involved will bring the following:
- A project which can be used to enhance the engineering diploma or CREST award or other STEM activities.
- Links with Mechanical, Electrical and Design engineers as mentors.
- National and regional recognition.
- A visit to North east school that has already taken part to share experience.
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is delighted to offer continued support to Greenpower. Participation in this exciting challenge requires teamwork, engineering skills, commitment and enthusiasm.
If you are willing to give your students a brilliant opportunity to get involved in a project like this and would like to receive more information about how to enter this Websites:
Institution of Mechanical Engineers – http://imeche.org/ Greenpower
If you would like to enter the competition then please contact Julie Harrison on 07899 050767 or email julieharrison@a4e.co.uk.
Please note: pupils will also be able to attend that are not participating in the actual design and build programme. Further details about this will be sent to schools nearer to the time.
NORTH EAST REGION In partnership with IMechE North East
Congratulations are in order for 10 projects from schools in the North East who competed in the regional Big Bang fair in July. They are going forward to compete in the National Science and Engineering competition at the Big Bang fair held at London’s ExceL on 10th – 12th March 2011. Shows including ‘Brainiac Live’, ‘Bang Goes the Theory’ and activities like ‘Amoeba to Zebra’, ‘The Ever Wondered Why Roadshow’, ‘Grow Your Own Body Parts’ and ‘Hydraulics for Frolics’ will be taking place at the event.
For more information on The Big Bang fair, to register your attendance and book tickets please visit www.thebigbangfair.co.uk.
Congratulations and the best of luck to the following schools and their projects:
School
Project
Central Newcastle High School
EES Project
Emmanuel College
Automatic Curtain
Emmanuel College
The Nyctolight
Emmanuel College
Frequetherapy
Emmanuel College
Electronic Musical Keyboard
Emmanuel College
Electronic Safety Device for Bike Users to Wear
Newminster Middle School
Which Tattoos Last the Longest
Queen Elizabeth High School
Gun Barrel Movement on a Challenger Tank
Sacred Heart High School
Liver Disease
St Bede’s RC School
Safety First Warning Lights
STEM Outreach would also like to congratulate and wish the best of luck to Corylus Learning’s Colin Wilkinson and Sarah McLusky at Sparks Education who will be co-ordinating the Big Bang North East at New College Durham on 12th July 2011. For more information on next year’s regional Big Bang fair feel free to contact Colin at colin@coryluslearning.com or Sarah at sarah@sparkseducation.co.uk or visit www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/northeast/
Pearson Publishing is pleased to announce the launch of an exciting resource that promotes STEM in schools.
The ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ enables students to follow the steps that a professional team would take in preparing to race a car.
It prepares students for the F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, a multi-disciplinary contest in which teams of students use computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM) software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and then race miniature balsa wood racing cars powered by compressed gas.
Intended to develop students’ interest in, and knowledge of, engineering and design, the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ enables schools to run a cross-curricular project. It is an excellent way to move STEM work from after-school clubs to timetabled classroom activities, and thereby give STEM more prominence in school life.
The resource is provided online, and an annual subscription costs just £295+VAT per school. Discounts are available if several schools purchase together; please contact us for further details. You can also encourage schools in your area to subscribe by sending them the following link to an information site, which is at: http://www.parsonpublishing.co.uk/fscr/
To view a brief demonstration of the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ (Bloodhound SSC), enter the user name ‘demo’ and the password ‘password’ at: http://fscr.pearson.co.uk
This edition of the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’ is for the 9-14 age group and Bloodhound SSC level of the challenge; subsequent editions for the F1 Class level will be available shortly.
To express your interest in editions for the 11-14 or 15-19 age group at the F1 Class level of the challenge, or for any other queries about the ‘F1 in Schools Curriculum Resource’, please email fscr@pearson.co.uk or call 01223 350555.
Do you teach some young scientists or engineers who deserve recognition? If they are 11-18 with a great project or invention…enter the National Science & Engineering Competition today. There is over £50,000 of prizes, including cash awards and trips abroad – plus the prestige of winning a high profile competition for your school or college and the teachers involved.
The lucky finalists will be invited to showcase their work to around 24,000 students, teachers, journalists and VIPs visiting The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair in London in March 2011. Here your students can mix and compete with the country’s best – and gather tips and advice from working scientists and engineers from all fields in business and research. With plenty of individual and team prizes up for grabs, there are lots of opportunities for all students, and the two winning individuals in the senior category will be crowned the UK Young Scientist of the Year and UK Young Engineer of the Year.
Here’s what Young Engineers have lined up for you in 2010/11:
Clubs – download our NEW Be Engineous activities (age 9-14)
A new activity programme, ‘Be ENGineous’, has been launched in time for the start of the Young Engineers Club year!
‘Be ENGineous’ has been designed to follow on from the ‘Get Them Going’ introductory programme and gives Young Engineers club leaders a ready-made programme to develop the engineering skills of club members that have already had an introduction to engineering. ‘Be ENGineous’ enables club members to progress further by working on more complex scenarios.
The programme provides an exciting mix of activities relating to different branches of engineering. Each activity has been split into 3 stages; the stages are indications of the difficulty levels of the activity:
* Stage 1 – Basic level; step by step instructions to complete the activity.
* Stage 2 – Intermediate level; follows on from stage 1 where students are required to build upon the completed stage 1 activity, not necessarily with instructions.
* Stage 3 – Higher level; students are required to research and develop the final stage of the activity, without instructions.
The activities included in the programme are:
• Hovercraft – General Engineering
• Bath Bombs – Chemical Engineering
• FM Radios – Electrical Engineering
• Water Purification – Civil Engineering
• Putt Putt Boats – Marine Engineering
• Cranes – Mechanical Engineering
• Rambling Robots – Robotic Engineering.
The whole booklet can be downloaded from our Complete Activity programme webpage. The individual activities are also available on the activity bank, and are suitable for using as standalone activities.
Young Engineers is grateful to Tomorrow’s Engineers for supporting the development of this programme.
D&T Show – club members needed! (age 12-14)
Following the success of last year, Young Engineers is again asking its club members (age 12 to14) to join us at the Design & Technology Show at the NEC in Birmingham for one of the days between 18th and 20th November. We are currently confirming the line up of activities we will be offering this year’s club members, but it will be along similar lines to last year’s event which included: trialling a brand new Rapid electronics project, making rocket cars on the Technology Enhancement Programme stand and showcasing their own club activities and taking part in one of our home grown engineering challenges on the Young Engineers stand. Register your interest stating which day you’d like to attend and we’ll send you the programme once its confirmed. Email us to reserve your place.
Showcase your club at national level! (age 12-18)
We are looking for 24 ‘STEM’ clubs who cater for secondary-school level to display their various projects and take part in The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair that is being held 10-12 March 2011 at ICC London ExCeL. This is an opportunity for Young Engineers Clubs who do purely engineering activities or a mix of STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
Not only is this a great way to promote your club members’ talents but you will also have the opportunity to meet lots of celebrities, scientists and engineers. You will also be able to interact with some of the most cutting-edge companies in the UK and to showcase your projects to the UK media. There will also be plenty of opportunity for teacher CPD and networking amongst peers. The fair is a huge event, attracting 22,500 visitors last year. It will be a mass of displays, demonstrations, workshops and floor shows – a truly inspiring occasion for your club members to experience.
Apply by telling us about your club and the fantastic, interesting, unusual and creative projects that you have undertaken and explain why you feel your club will benefit from showcasing your efforts at the Big Bang. Closing date: 31st October 2010.
The 24 selected clubs will be invited to bring up to 4 students and 1 accompanying adult to exhibit for the full three days of The Big Bang and will receive significant subsidies for travel, accommodation and catering.
STEM Challenge Days (age 7-16)
“A great day was had by the students and teachers. It went very smoothly and we will recommend it to other schools.” Adrian Stannard, Kelmscott School. It has proved extremely popular in its first year, with over 4000 students experiencing one of our interactive challenge days. We have included some feedback from teachers to help you get a feel for what a STEM Challenge day is really about. 75% teachers gave their day an ‘excellent’ rating, with the other 25% considering it ‘above average’!
Our dedicated team have also included some new challenges for both primary and secondary school students. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1260
Meet the Public
This project enables practising engineers to work alongside Young Engineers to engage the general public in inspiring bite-size engineering activities at local Science Festivals, County Shows and other public events across the UK.
Look out for Young Engineers at the next event in Manchester at Manchester Science Festival 19-20 October 2010.
Young Engineer for Britain (age 12-19)
Any student working on their own innovative, creative or novel inventions in either club time, part of the curriculum or as a hobby can gain important recognition for their project as they compete for some absolutely fantastic prizes and awards. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=66
National Science and Engineering Competition (12-19)
The National Science & Engineering Competition is open to 11-18 year olds in the UK who have completed a project or activity in any field of science, technology, engineering or maths. If you or your team have done an amazing project or invented something new then you should enter! http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/the_competition.cfm
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Engineering Experience (age 16-19)
Selected students take part in a 3-4 day intensive engineering, social and cultural experience visiting international industrial facilities in October 2011. The selection process is simple and is good university/job application practice. The six finalists are selected by telephone/video interview. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1178
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Teacher’s Award
Details are still being finalised, but there will be a Teacher’s Award at the Big Bang Fair 2011. We will be informing all once we have details of the nomination process.
Other Competitions
For all other Young Engineers Competitions, please keep checking our website for updates when latest competitions will be available. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=54
Club Activities
Available to Club Network members : (Membership is free – sign up now)
Activity Bank – need inspiration for your next club project? Search this ever growing resource. 11 new activities were added over the Summer between them catering for ages 8 to 16 – thanks to club leaders Caroline Alliston from Blue Coat Technology Club for adding “Bottle Rockets” and “Catapult to Fire a Water Bomb”, Paul Thomas from New Hall School for adding “Nuclear Engineering” and Andrew Bennett from St. Andrew’s Science Club for adding “24hr Clock”.
Don’t forget – we need Club Leaders’ help to keep this amazing resource growing! If you have run an activity which really worked well in your club, please do add it to the Activity Bank so that other clubs can try it also!
Go to Activity Bank Submit an activity
Club Grant – £50 to £100 available each year
Exclusively available to Club Network members: (Membership is free – sign up now)
Don’t forget we’re keen to get our hands on information for our sponsors on what your club got up to last year. To help us, fill in our 10 minute Club Report – and collect your £50-£100 Club Grant to help you run the club this year! (New clubs can also apply for a Club Grant by telling us what they are planning for the coming year). http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1122
Local Support Group Grant – £50 to £500 available each year
Exclusively available to Club Network members: (Membership is free – sign up now)
Funding is available to assist clubs who want to work with each other locally – purchasing of shared club resources, local events involving several clubs and joint club industrial visits are all eligible for support. Tell us who you want to work with, or ask us to put you in touch with clubs in your area. http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=1294
Club Leadership Awards
Exclusively available to Club Network members: Is there an adult helper, company contact, or even student mentor whom you’d like to thank for their club support? http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=139
Club Registration for 2010/11
Club Network members take note: Our club member numbers have been zeroed ready for you to enter this year’s figures, so please update your Club Profile with the number of students attending your club this year. Maintaining up to date membership information is an important element of keeping our sponsors up to date! In the coming months we will running a series of lucky dips and will be handing out more club merchandise as prizes, so get your club member numbers updated early so you will be put into each and every draw this year! http://www.youngeng.org/index.asp?page=100 (Email us if you have problems)
The Big Bang Fair – date for your diary (age 9-18)
Taking place in Manchester on 10-12 March, this high profile and free event promises to: Wow students with experiments, explosions, simulators and shows. Give them the opportunity to quiz scientists and engineers about their jobs and discover a dream career. Meet students from around the country and find out about the amazing projects they have brought to display.See cutting edge technology from many leading companies and get some great teaching ideas. We are also helping to plan a series of STEM related Teacher CPD opportunities which will be publicised once we have the full details. http://www.thebigbangfair.co.uk
Regional Big Bang Fairs
A number of organisations are bidding to host regional Big Bang Fairs in June/July 2011 and once the selection process is complete, we will let you know who has the lead in your region so that you can start planning to attend.
Other News
Remember, get all our news first on www.youngeng.org! Other recent news items:
* Be Engineous is launched!
* We have won e-Legacy Awards
* Showcase your club at national level!
* SmartPlanet joins the Support Pages
* Square Eyed Engineering
*Calling for Entries in to the National Science & Engineering Competition
We hope you’ll find something amongst all of this lot to keep your gang amused. Club Network members remember there is loads more information on other competitions and sources of activity ideas and tips on how to get your club running smoothly in the members’ pages of our website. (Contact us if you have forgotten your log in details)
Young Engineers needs to commission two new ‘Top Gear’ leader boards for the regional Big Bang Fairs taking place this Summer. Rather than employing the services of an established engineering firm, we think this is an excellent opportunity for our club members to work on a real mini-engineering project.
Requirements and Specification
The leader board is taken around the country and used to generate excitement and encourage competitors to give their best performances when taking part in our engineering challenges. As in the Top Gear television programme, our leader board needs to be of an impressive height. The whole front face must enable information strips to be easily attached and slid around. (Our current board uses white magnetic white board strips on a steel surface).
The leader board needs to be self-standing, as we will be setting it up in many different locations. It must also be stable so that it will not topple over and hurt someone, and the health and safety implications of any protrusions at the base must also be considered in the design. As we use the leader board in all sorts of places around the country, it must pack down to fit in a small car boot and be robust enough to be sent by courier. It should also be light weight to save on fuel and portable so that it can be carried long distances across car parks and up and down stairs. Set up times for our challenges are often very tight, so the leader board must be quick and easy to set up and pack down.
Dimensions for the main unit*:
When standing: 2000mm x 500mm with a maximum depth of 60mm.
Packed down for transport: 1000mm x 500mm with a maximum depth of 200mm.
Weight for the main unit*: As light as possible – target weight around 10kg.
*Additional units may form part of the design. We haven’t given specifications for these, but they must compliment the design and help it to meet our requirements.
Project Time Line
Submission of design brief by: Friday 14th May
Award contact on: Wednesday 19th May
Delivery of finished leader board to Young Engineers by: Monday 14th June
Design Brief
Briefs to be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 15th May.
Please include:
• School name and address and club number
• Names , age, gender and roles of each project team member
• Description of leader board and techniques which will be used to construct it
• An annotated diagram, showing what materials will be used where and how the design fulfils the brief
• A construction schedule
• A budget which includes the list of the materials and the suppliers
• Method of delivery or transportation to Young Engineers Head Office
• Your Club Leader’s permission to take part! They must email your design brief or sign a hardcopy confirming they will supervise the team’s work.
Things are really hotting up for Big Bang North East! Blue Peter science presenter Steve Mould will be presenting the awards ceremony, featuring regional finalists of the Young Engineer for Britain Competition and CREST Awards. Steve will also be performing some of his favourite experiments in front of a live audience of school pupils from the North East.
See Blue Peter science presenter Steve Mould on YouTube:
