Many years ago, I used to coordinate an event called the Schools Space Technology
Symposium. It was a student led academic conference in which students from my Space Club could present a report individually or in groups, about the projects they had completed throughout the year. Other schools were invited to attend and present a report, so each year there was an excellent variety of student projects on show.
Back then, NASA had a representative in Australia and he would make the trip from
Canberra to give a keynote address. After he returned to the USA, we had keynote addresses given by Australian scientists working in various space and astronomy related fields. The keynote speaker could award a prize called the Speaker’s Choice Award, which was highly coveted among my students.
The event was not intended to be a competition, however, the students loved the attention given by scientists actually working in the fields of space and astronomy. In one Symposium a group of Year 5 students presented a report about a drop tower they had made, in which they conducted small experiments in the very brief period of microgravity their drop tower afforded them. They had placed a camera inside the experiment container, so their presentation was enhanced by short videos. They were ecstatic when our keynote speaker, the NASA representative, told the audience how impressed he was and jokingly offered the Year 5 drop tower builders’ jobs when they were older.
The effect that the Symposium had was to focus the students on their projects and give them a sense for the need to have a timeline for the completion of the project. Some of the projects were presented as a work in progress at one Symposium, followed up by a report on the completed project the next year. The club members liked having something to work towards and looked forward to their parents and peers seeing the results of their efforts at the Symposium. This kept them motivated during the course of the project and made them more resilient when aspects did not go as expected. They developed sound problem solving skills while collaboratively modifying methods and materials as required, to bring their work to completion in time.
In our workshops at Beyond the Beanstalk, we have incorporated the collaborative nature of those student led projects from year ago. Children are presented with activities which are accessible and achievable, while at the same time requiring collaboration and age appropriate problem solving. Often we find that children will modify a method and achieve the result slightly differently from how we envisioned. This is evident in our microscope based activities, such as those in our Inside the Beanstalk workshop.
We still use the basic structure of the old drop tower in one of our STEM circuits and a
Physics workshop, although aspects of it have been modified according to changing
technology. For instance, the old wooden experiment container constructed by the Year 5
students has been replaced by a clear plastic box which houses a wireless camera, or a
smartphone. We have now included an experiment to demonstrate Newton’s First Law, where an unrestrained brick construction figure is launched from his seat. This particular experiment is always a vehicle for children to develop their problem solving skills.
Somebody always wants to figure out a way to stop the brick figure from flying out of his seat and will problem solve with different methods and materials until they achieve it. One child suggested putting a scale on the back wall of the experiment container so they could see if the could measure how high a slinky spring might stretch in the drop tower if one end was attached to the floor of the container. It is always very uplifting to see this level of engagement with one of our workshops.
At the Beanstalk, we have not forgotten the importance of children having something to work towards. Obviously we can’t have a Symposium with peers and parents attending at the conclusion of every workshop, so we like to address this in another way. Our workshops usually contain an activity where children can make something and take it home. For instance, in one of our mirror workshops, students make a small infinity mirror which they get to keep. In our newly developed OOSH workshop Dye Hard, children play a team based game and learn about the chemistry of tie dyeing, and make a tie dyed T-shirt and bandana which they get to keep.
Many of the children involved in those early Schools Space Technology Symposia now have children of their own. I am reminded of them when I see children engaging with our
workshops. It is always rewarding to see children learning new things about themselves and developing skills which can be called upon in future aspects of their lives.
Jennie is a highly accomplished educator with over 30 years of experience as a science teacher. Renowned for her innovative teaching methods, she has received national and international recognition, including the prestigious Churchill Fellowship and the Caltex Rotary Award for Innovation in Teaching.
With a Master of Science in Astronomy, Jennie has travelled extensively across the United States and Europe to study best practices in the teaching of science, engineering, and mathematics. Her passion lies in inspiring curiosity and equipping both students and educators to explore the wonders of STEM.
Jennie is the author of The STEAM Book, a guide filled with engaging STEM activities for late primary and early high school students, along with its accompanying teacher resource. She is also the creative mind behind the beloved Growley series, captivating readers with stories that spark imagination and a love for learning.
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