18 employee volunteers from Siemens Congleton went into local primary schools to educate and enthuse pupils about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) through fun and exciting marble roller-coaster and spaghetti tower challenges. This year pupils from Years 3-6 were tasked with designing, building and testing either roller-coaster models or spaghetti towers made from materials supplied by Siemens.
Through carrying out the challenge in small teams the pupils learnt about some of the key principles of engineering success: teamwork, design, safety and testing. They used mathematical and scientific principles when considering construction shapes and how to give the materials extra strength.
Michaela Lawton, Business Excellence at Siemens, who originally created the annual STEM challenge said “We are passionate about engaging pupils in STEM through fun and creative initiatives and enlightening them about the varied and many career opportunities available that STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) can lead to. We are also committed to correcting the outdated perception that engineering is only suitable for boys.”
“Siemens are delighted that following their engagement in the challenge 50% of the pupil participants felt would be exciting to be an engineer when they grow up”.
All pupils were awarded a STEM certificate from Siemens and were given a fluffy bug with the Siemens education website where they can find more fun challenges to do at home (https://new.siemens.com/uk/en/company/education.html)
