We’re very excited about our P4 to P6 STEM Design Challenge featuring K’Nex coming up on Wednesday, March 28, 2020 from 9am – 1pm in VENUE TBC. 

 

Thank you very much for your overwhelming positivity and enthusiasm as we work through this inaugural year together. When planning an event like this for the first time, the road is occasionally bumpy, and we appreciate your flexibility and patience as we move forward.

 

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2020 P4 to P6 STEM Design Challenge

Your team is challenged to design a building. This building must be at least 1 meter tall and your team must be able to demonstrate that your building can hold weight. During the presentation your team must show the strength of your building (using books, weights, etc.) and also address how your building is environmentally friendly.

 

Enrolment

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Rules

• A team of 2-4 students will work together on the project.

• Only K’Nex kits and motors may be used. Each team may use up to 1400 K’Nex pieces. (Motor is not required.)

• Schools must bring their K’Nex kits and motors on the day of the competition.

• Students will have 2 hours to put their project together at the competition.

• No pieces may be brought to the competition already joined.

• Each team will need to bring a journal and a blueprint to the competition with them.

• Each team will need to prepare a presentation (max 2 minutes) on their model and how they answered the challenge.

 

 

Judging Criteria

• Creativity (for example, propose the building is dual purpose or has a unique design: generates electric potential for neighborhood, constructed with unique earthquake resistance, or structure on Mars for man mission)

• Teamwork

• Challenge Success

• Design

• Presentation (demonstrate challenge, incorporation of blueprints & journal, 2-minute delivery, basic presentation skills, answering questions from judges)

 

 

Journal

Teams must answer the following questions but may include other information:

• Describe the process the team used to come up with a solution.

• What roles did each member have while coming up with the solution?

• What types of issues arose while working on the project?

• Did creating a blueprint help with the creation of your model?

• Did you use any other resources or models to help your team come up with a solution?

 

 

Blueprints

Blueprints may be a picture, drawing, CAD, etc. Students may present on a tablet/laptop but judges do not award additional points for use of technology.

 

 

Additional MS Challenge

Teams competing in the Grades 6-8 division will also be asked to present a budget of their project. Each K’Nex piece will be given a price and teams will receive an inventory sheet. Middle school teams will need to turn in an inventory of pieces used and an overall cost of their building. If using pieces not listed in the inventory, cost approximations are to be made at the advisor’s discretion based on similar pieces in the inventory.

 

 

Awards

• Awards at the regional challenge will be given to top three teams in Grades 4-5 and top three teams in Grades 6-8

• Top team in each division will advance to the state competition at Harrisburg University on May 13, 2016

 

 

Tentative Schedule for the Day

9:00am – 9:30am Registration

9:30am – 9:45am Welcome/Competition Overview

9:45am – 11:45am Student Competition

11:45am – 12:30pm Judging/Project Peer Review

12:30pm – 12:45pm Awards Ceremony

12:45pm – 1:00pm Clean up and Dismiss

 

 

There is no set lunch time built into the schedule. Students are invited to pack a lunch and eat when time permits (if they finish building before the two hours of the student competition is up, for example). Groups may also remain after the competition (until 1:30pm) and eat their lunches.

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2020 P4 to P6 STEM Design Challenge Rubrics are available

Please contact info at stemlab.asia to request a copy. (Note: Rubrics are not to be shared with students. For Teacher/Adviser use only.)