Serious About Science is one of the new junior options for those wanting to take their science education to the next level.

The class aims to show students how scientists work, using the citizen science capabilities. To wind up the term, students worked in groups to build a model car out of a common set of materials. They competed with each other to see which design would travel the farthest distance.

To take the project to the next level, students then selected one aspect of their design that they could change to improve their results. The task moved from out maneuvering the other teams to beating their own original design and it was lovely to see their enthusiasm when their plans came together. Students were able to use some of the science they had learnt throughout the team while gaining experience in the “soft skills” of how to work together in a team, problem solving and time management. The winning distance was 13.47m, but even those groups that got an initial distance of 0m improved their design! 

Ka pai all!