Hero photograph
Riverside Christian College team who won this event in 2021
 
Photo by Hervey Bay City Rotary

The Science and Engineering Challenge, run in conjunction with The University of Newcastle, helps Year 9 and 10 students to foster their interest in STEM, with the hope that more students will consider future careers in these areas

Hervey Bay City Rotary —

The Rotary Club of Hervey Bay City has continued their long support of this Youth Program.

Our Science & Engineering Challenge  is happening again this year at the PCYC in Hervey Bay,  and together with the University of Newcastle it will be a really challenging day for our school participants. Last year's winners were the Riverside Christian College. Let's see who can take the pole position in 2022. 

The Rotary Club of Hervey Bay City has continued their support of this Youth Program,  the Fraser Coast event after cancellation in 2020. 

The Challenge involves a full day of practical activities where students put their best problem-solving minds to

  • design and operate a bionic hand that is dexterous, strong and inexpensive.
  • design efficient codes to send secret messages along fibre optic rods using pulses of coloured light.
  • build a strong model bridge that can support a trolley carrying ‘gold’ ingots from one side of a test rig to the other.
  • and much more!

Activities for 2022 are:

  1. Bridge
  2. Mars
  3. ElectraCITY
  4. Helter Skelter Shelter
  5. Turbine
  6. Stringways
  7. Confounding Communications
  8. Grasping at Straws

Students are encouraged to approach the challenges with creativity, innovation and teamwork. Through the Challenge, students experience aspects of science and engineering which they would not usually see in their school environment.

Cost:

$440 per school and Rotary Clubs will often sponsor students to attend.

Who attends:

Each school brings a team of between 16 and 32 Year 9-10 students. A maximum of 8 schools per day compete against each other at one venue. Each school 'team' is divided into eight groups of between 2 to 4 students per group. Each group will then do either one full-day activity, or two half-day activities (i.e. one activity in the morning session, and a different one in the afternoon session).