STEM Events

Race to the Line

On Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th July 2023, all of our Year 7 students took part in the
“Race to the Line” challenge, working in teams to design and build a model car,
powered by a cannister of pressurised carbon dioxide and creating little vehicles
capable of reaching speeds of up to 14 metres per second! The project was a STEM
event run in collaboration by the Science, Design and Technology and Computer
Science Departments to highlight how skills in different subject areas can overlap
and support one another.

In their teams, students designed a variety of shapes for their car to produce the
most aerodynamic and eye-catching models. They worked together to discuss and
develop a design solution and, starting from a sustainable foam block, they used
saws, glass paper, scissors and card to create and refine their entries to the
competition.

On both days we had a wonderful selection of entries that both looked great and
performed well on the track. Set off from a custom-built launcher, and being
measured on the timing gate programmed by students in the Computer Science
classrooms, every single car had a successful run, with every team taking part - a
new record for the project, which is now in its third year at Culcheth High School.
Engagement from the students was excellent and feedback from staff and
students has been very positive. Let’s see if next year’s Year 7 cohort can beat this
year’s records!

Planetarium and Moon Watch

 In October, Culcheth High School’s Science Department teamed up with Science and Technology Facilities Council to provide our annual Community Moon Watch Event. This was a spectacular extravaganza of all things to do with the moon, from the loan of real lunar and meteorite samples (from STFC) and giving the school’s telescopes an airing, to flying through the Solar System using NASA’s Solar System Eyes software, building and testing straw rockets and model moons. We also explored how craters are formed and how rocket boosters work. There were a number of competitions on the night with prizes being given throughout.

Despite the day being wet and no moon visible (stopping us using the telescopes), this didn’t hamper the event as there were so many other things to explore. Feedback from the night was great with over 200 attending including Gorse Covert Beavers, and friends and family from the community.

If you have your own telescope that you want to get the best out of, or fancy doing some more star gazing events, Liverpool Astronomical Society have lots of information on their website and meetings you can attend. Visit https://liverpoolas.org/ for more information.

In the run up to this wonderful evening, Year 9 also undertook a space project, exploring everything from why we have day, night, seasons and years to the mind-boggling scale of the solar system. This fantastic two-week project finished with a visit to a planetarium in school. It was fantastic to see how enthusiastic students were.

Many thanks to all attended.

Mars lander Challenge

In June and July the Science Department and Year 7 pupils got off to a star soaring start with students designing and building a Mars Lander for a raw egg!  This required pupils to use inspiration for the challenges that NASA has overcome to land the Mars rovers.  Showing determination, resilience and problems solving initiative pupils needed to pitch their science, technology, engineering and maths talents safely land their eggs down the stairwell and then bounce down the stairs without breaking them.

The teams worked amazingly and the talent field of future STEM graduates is going to be very strong 

Well done everyone involved.