EPro8 Competition
The EPro8 Challenge is an inter-school science and engineering competition. Every year over 25,000 students from throughout New Zealand take part. The kits are hired and sent to different schools within New Zealand.
Students participate in a series of events: firstly within their school and then inter-school. These events are designed to promote science, engineering and problem-solving.
The competition is open to year 5/6 and year 7/8 students.
Schools hire the EPro8 equipment kits for 2 days to do some training and then to hold the within-school competition. Equipment in the kits includes different lengths of aluminium rods, wheels, gears, nuts and bolts, joiners, axles, pulleys, reels, rope, screwdrivers, and tape measures. Our school owns one EPro8 kit and we are hoping to purchase more kits in the future. We hired 6 kits to work with our senior and intermediate students over the 2 days this term.
This year the within-school competition included the following challenges for the students to choose from:
Dunk Tank (creating a tank with a hinged platform)
Certificate Giver-Outer (constructing a tool to give out certificates and shake hands with winners)
Water Well (creating a water well with a lifting bucket).
The challenges include a range of tasks the team can complete to win different points towards their totals. The challenges become increasingly difficult and more complex. The teachers watched the students work in teams to see who could build the challenges, share ideas and work cooperatively as a team.
The top teams from each internal event qualify for the inter-school heats. Each heat has twelve teams from schools throughout a region to complete a variety of science and engineering-based challenges. The top teams qualify for the regional grand final.
Māpua School historically has done very well at inter-school heats and grand finals with a few first-place trophies in our school cabinet! This year we invited some of these students with the experience to give some advice to our senior team and to help with judging during the internal event. They were strict judges and made sure measurements and criteria for each activity were strictly adhered to!
Two years 5 ⁄ 6 and two years 7 ⁄ 8 teams were chosen from our within-school competition and are looking forward to competing in the interschool competition being held on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 August at Lower Moutere Memorial Hall and Nelson Intermediate School.
Visit this website to check out more of the challenge activities, try the electronic simulator and find out more information about the EPro8 competition:
Gallery
