02/05/2007
Pupils and staff at Fernwood School, Nottingham, hosted the launch event for the East Midlands. They were joined by pupils and teachers from twelve other schools in the region. In all, there were a total of 40 pupils involved in the event. Other guests included representatives from ASE, two university academics, the chair of Nottingham City Council and the local SETPOINT.
Students engaged in a variety of hands-on experiments. They were supported by staff members from all the schools that attended and by some academics from the University of Nottingham departments of Physics & Astronomy and Engineering.
The activities included experimenting with model cars and different forms of propulsion including hydrogen fuel cells and photoelectric cells.
Next on the menu were some Mars mission landing challenges, where students had to design, make and test a Mars lander that would protect an egg when dropped from a height. Unfortunately, the budget didn't stretch to actually going to Mars on this occasion.
There was also the chance to use a large telescope and camera to capture images outdoors, giving pupils experience of the equipment used to view objects in outer space.
And if this wasn't enough, there was a water rocket challenge out on the school field. Any excuse to get covered in water!