Academy sets engineering challenges children can do at home

05 May, 2020

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/competition-engineers-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.