Pupils 'could be first to walk on Mars!'

Around 100 children from three local primary schools took part in an exciting ‘Creative Technologists Innovation Day’ at Beachborough Prep School in Westbury.

Year 6 children from Finmere Primary School, Helmdon Primary School and The Radstone Primary School in Brackley joined forces with the Year 6 children at Beachborough to attend a carousel of engaging talks, activities and lessons all based around the theme of ‘Robotics’.

The event began with a welcome talk from Beachborough head Simone Mitchell and then kicked off with a talk from astronomy author and professional keynote speaker, Colin Stuart in the school’s Whybrow Theatre.

Colin spoke of how the children in the room will potentially be the first humans to walk on Mars as the first person on the red planet is most probably already alive and under 18 years old.

This absolutely blew the children away during the awe-inspiring talk, packed with stunning visuals that took the children on their first journey to Mars.

The talk inspired the activities for the remainder of the day, with the children participating in a Minecraft Education coding challenge in the school’s computing and robotics classroom, where they were transported to the solar system to investigate robots that had been sent to the surface of our moon and Mars.

The robots were not working correctly, which meant the children had to put their heads together and work in teams to figure out what was causing them to malfunction.

Next, the children were invited into the Beachborough School science labs to work with the head of science and explore Mars using the practical tests that the scientists and robots use when exploring the planets in our solar system.

This was such a rare insight for the children as they were able to look at what information needs to be gathered and what technology is available to them to be able to complete the tasks, just as a space scientist would.

In the maths department, teachers introduced the children to the modern uses of robotics, being tasked with using a Sphero Robot to rescue a person who has been injured in a disaster zone.

Quick thinking was required, and the children had to code the Sphero to avoid obstacles and navigate to the casualty safely. There were whoops of joy as the teams successfully completed the mission.

Finally, two hands-on activities cemented the children’s learning. During the first, the children were able to make their very own Mars robot, which was created alongside the guidance of Beachborough’s head of technology.

The children designed and produced some outstanding Mars Rover buggies, which were made using the electric saws to cut the chassis before assembling the axles, wheels and then adding the circuits to power them.

The second activity was an ‘Art Bot’ challenge where the children were tasked with creating their own art bots alongside Beachborough’s head of art, using a small motor, felt tip pens and paper cups.

The results were extremely creative as the children personalised their designs and witnessed the art bots springing to life as they moved (jumped) around the art studio.

Mrs Blithe, head of computing and robotics at Beachborough School said: “We are passionate about inspiring and equipping children with knowledge and skills in STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics).

“We don’t yet know how technology will develop in the next ten or so years, but what we can do is recognise the ever-growing significance of the requirement for these skills in the modern world.

“Therefore we feel it is vital that we collaborate with local schools to provide all children with the opportunity for experience in these areas through this engaging and immersive day.”

Finmere Primary School said: “Our children have really enjoyed the day, have been inspired and have learnt so much. They have even made some lovely friendships along the way. Thank you for inviting our Year 6s to collaborate with you.”

The day concluded with an address from Mrs Mitchell, who sought the views of the children as to what they enjoyed the most, and each child departed with the day’s creations and a goody bag of robotics merchandise.