Learning Enrichment

On Friday 3 August, eight teams, consisting of keen Year 9 and 10 Science students took part in the annual Science and Engineering Challenge.  A total of 56 teams from schools across metropolitan and country South Australia took part in their chance to put their creativity, science, mathematics and engineering skills to the test. 

The type of tasks students are presented with require students to use aspects of science and engineering that they would not usually see in their school environment. Some examples of the events on the day were:

• a catapult that sent a ball to the furthest distance with acute accuracy
• a bionic hand that could lift objects and make hand gestures
• a lightweight bridge that could withstand a heavy load
• a string network
• a tower that could stay standing and hold a load during an “earthquake”
• an electricity grid to supply energy to several cities
• a Morse code set up where students needed to interpret patterns and symbols
• a turbine able to maximize its ability of transfer liquid in an energy efficient manner.

The day concluded with the testing of all of the different school's bridges. The Endeavour Bridge was one of the lighter bridges, although the length allowed only three metal ingots to successfully cross. Groups also scored very well by winning the Catapult day event as well as the Turbine half day group event. Groups consistently achieved high scores overall.

It was met with great excitement when we learnt we won the heat with a total of 1166 points, which placed us second in South Australia overall.   Endeavour will now enter the Super Challenge State Finals on Thursday 30 August where we will compete against eight other top schools for the State Cup.

Well done to everyone for their efforts and staying positive and focused throughout the day.

Catherine Noack

Enrichment Leader

Making a catapult was a real team effort. We were given about 24 dows, three different sizes (8 small, 8 medium and 8 large). We had an unlimited amount of string and rubber bands and a small cup to make a catapult that would need to be accurate and able to catapult a tennis ball at least 16 meters. We assembled the catapult on a triangle thanks to the idea of Daniel Goss, which was assembled really well by Ricky Nguyen. The catapult at first was only firing around 6 meters before an improvement that was suggested by Cooper Howson. The idea was not at first used until I implemented it with five minutes to go. The catapult went from 6 meters to 35 meters. We ended up scoring 191 points out of a possible 200 for Endeavour. We were all proud of the achievement that we made and how well we worked as a team. Bradley L

The Science and Engineering challenge was a delightful experience. During the day, our group completed the bridge-building challenge, using various materials such as pop-sticks, cardboard and balsa wood pieces. As the school teams were called back to the main area, we placed our bridge on the stand. Nervously, we released weights onto the bridge to measure its durability. In total, we were able to pass three weights over the bridge successfully. Fortunately, the low weight of our model still ensured we were awarded an adequate number of points. Personally, I found making the structure to be an extremely rewarding experience. Multiple times, we had to decide on different options and compromise to cover the needs for the whole group. This helped us develop our ability to make quick choices in timed conditions. Overall, our group enjoyed the experience of competing against other schools and creating a successful bridge.  Faraz M

Enrichment Opportunity

The ConocoPhillips Science Experience Program is a non-selective STEM program opened to students in Year 9 or 10. The program runs a variety of programs over different universities and dates that include hands on activities in laboratories, short interactive lectures and on-site excursions all run by Australian scientists and engineers.

All programs provide information on future study in engineering fields, career options and an opportunity to meet with current university students.

Information can be found at www.scienceexperience.com.au.  There are a number of available dates at various locations.  For any further information please email me at Catherine.noack@endeavour.sa.edu.au.

Registration, cost and transport will be the responsibility of caregivers/students.

Catherine Noack

Enrichment Leader