This term students who selected STEM Entrepreneurs worked through ideation, design and testing phases to improve their school.
Students started the term with the question – “How can we make our school a better place?” They identified areas that they thought could be improved, then worked through ways to improve them.
This resulted in 2 main projects:
1 – biodegradable chewing gum to reduce issues of gum stuck to the concrete, and
2 – Nicotine detectors – to deter students from using vapes
Early on, students hit roadblocks in terms of the biodegradable gum. The main issue- that gum contains plastic and an alternative ingredient that was not another form of plastic or latex was hard to find/produce.
From there, students have been focusing their attention to the creation of a nicotine detector. They have been testing different properties as seen below.
Left to right: Year 8 students Novak, Joshua, William and Dale.
The students have found out first hand that not all ideas work but the process of testing – failing, then redesigning is key.
Although students will not have finished their project by the end of this year, these students should be commended on their work ethic on this project.
