Celebrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths across year groups at The Mall School
27th October 25
We held our first STEM day in the Autumn term, which was dedicated to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The whole school took part in an exciting activity: teams worked in their House groups to plan, design, build and fly an aeroplane!
Working in groups, the children listened to each other’s ideas and shared their own, took turns with the tools and equipment, encouraged each other and solved problems together, then reflected on what had gone well and what they’d learned.
Each team allocated specific roles to individual pupils; responsibilities included designing, engineering, managing materials, ensuring safe use of equipment and testing their structures for efficient gliding.
Design and production process
The design process incorporated vital steps of researching and planning what their plane would look like, designing their structure, building it, testing it out and implementing any improvements.
Each team was allocated the same resources, which included bamboo sticks, tape, string, scissors, paper and tissue paper. Junior teams were given bamboo sticks, string, a rubber band and a propellor, then created some fabulous plane fuselages and wings with paper and card. They could add their own artwork to their flying machines, which added plenty of individuality.
Points were awarded for design, structural integrity and flight potential, with the plane that travelled furthest being the overall winner.
The flights
The planes were flown from the top of the climbing frame in the junior playground, with a variety of outcomes! Some nosedived, others glided, and a few crash-landed.
Overall, the children thoroughly enjoyed the day, with plenty of shouting and cheering as the planes took off, as well as applause for each other’s efforts.
The prototype planes will now be displayed in the Theatre foyer, so come along to one of our open assemblies, events or to tour our fabulous school to see them for yourself! We look forward to welcoming you.
Book a visit: admissions@themallschool.org.uk
