Making K’nexions - (STEM workshop Kings Langley Primary School, Kings Langley)

 This is a ‘Young Engineers’ initiative which is a programme to enable students to engage with the different roles of an engineering project through an in-school hands-on design and build activity using K’Nex. The teams were mentored by a number of students from our Senior School ‘Young Engineers’ Club.

We invited teams of Year 6 pupils from two local schools, Kings Langley Primary and Chambersbury Primary, to come a join us for the morning.  We also had two special guests, both STEM ambassadors, to assist with the judging of the competition at the end of the morning. These were Kate Bellingham, who is a ‘Girls in Engineering’ champion and former BBC presenter and Rosa Gindele, a wind turbine reliability engineer from RES Kings Langley.

Aims

To work cooperatively in a team and problem-solve using equipment and instructions provided. 

• • To work cooperatively in a team

  • To problem solve using equipment and instruction given

  • To produce a working wind turbine

  • To work under timed conditions following specific criteria

  • To build on their own reflectiveness and imagination

To gain an appreciation of an aspect of engineering

Resources

Facilities, K'Nex kits, staffing.

Impact

The teams worked very well together and all of the wind turbines generated electricity. The judges were looking to see good teamwork and good design as well as an effective working turbine.

Pupil Involvement

All of AHS Year 6 girls took part alongside two teams of 4 from both Kings Langley School and Chambersbury School.