Date posted:Thursday 3rd November 2011
On Tuesday 27 September 2011, 10 Year 9 students travelled to Tonbridge for a one day TeenTech event. Schools from all over the county came to the event, which involved solving common STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) challenges and visiting the stalls of many major organisations to change teenagers’ perceptions of STEM careers. The Riverside Centre was split into the Innovation Zone and the Challenge Zone for this. One of the challenges was to design mobile phone app and then make a 45-second presentation about it. SLGGS was awarded a certificate for the best “Team Work” in this challenge: it now sits proudly in reception. Other STEM challenges included designing a rollercoaster and recreating the face of a “suspected criminal” (actually Richard Branson) with the aid of e-fit software, just as the forensic scientists do.
Science broadcaster Maggie Philbin made a wonderful and enthusiastic host for the day. Each school also had their own STEM ambassador to guide them around the Centre. An iPad2 and a trip to Thorpe Park were just some of the prizes up for grabs during the day. In the true spirit of the event, though, every school received a certificate of participation and all pupils went home with their arms full of stationery, bags, sunglasses, baseball caps, leaflets, earphones and even stress toys shaped as dolphins (courtesy of BAE Systems).
One of the most memorable parts of the day was adding our colourful post-it notes (along with the other 300 students) to the Fountain of Ideas, for a team of judges to review our technological ideas to improve life in 2050. The sheer number of ideas – roughly 1000 - at the end of the day meant that the judges had to draw up a shortlist on the TeenTech website (
www.teentechevent.com), so that an extra person will win a prize. Have a look on the site – you may see a few familiar names! The companies involved in Teentech Kent were Apps For Good, Agant, BAE Systems, BBC Blue Room, BCS, BT, Cummins, Denne, DTSL, Engineering in Motion, Google, IoD, IET, JVC, Kenwood, New World Telecom, NOISE, Pyuda, RoboChallenge, Samsung, Siemens, Smallpiece Trust, Thin_k, Treloar, University of Kent, University of Leicester and Zenos.
By the far the most enjoyable stall we visited was the Cummins Scalectrix Track, where everyone had a exciting time racing each other, and seeing who could achieve the fastest time (don’t worry, we also learnt about engine design!). With a virtual bobsled, a Velcro-wall and a TV that can display two programmes at once, the Challenge Zone more than satisfied our appetite for exploring the latest developments in the STEM world. Overall, the day was a great opportunity for all of us (including Miss Foord!) to see where a career in STEM can take you. The statistics speak for themselves: from 43% of students interested in going into engineering at the start of the day, 80% thought that engineering might be for them by the end of it.
From the bio-mimicry – using designs from the natural world to solve problems in the man-made world – to the incredible power of wood (who would have thought that a wooden beam could support 3 people), we all took away something different from the event. On arriving back at school (after about 4 hours in the mini-bus from start to finish), everyone was delighted with how the day went; although it is safe to say we were all ready to fall asleep! On behalf of all the SLGGS students who went to the Teentech event, we would like to thank the invaluable support and help of the 140 scientists and engineers present at the Centre, the companies who ran the stalls, the organisers who made sure everything went smoothly, and, of course, the school for taking us.
Report written by Ramani Chandramohan, Year 9
Photos of the event are available to view online in our
gallery 
