1. Partnership case study Birmingham Southside: STEM fairs

2. Birmingham Southside STEM fairs
Annually since the beginning of the partnership
December: Secondary (KS3) STEM fair – Year 7 students with Year 8 leaders
July: Primary (KS2) STEM fair – Year 5 students with Year 7 leaders
Four activities designed from each of three departments: Science, Technology and Maths
Older students trained to deliver activities (approx. ten students per department)
All partnership schools invited to bring eight students (2 x teams of four for each activity)

3. Objectives
Provide students with opportunities to engage in the STEM subjects in new and unfamiliar ways, and to collaborate and learn together in a fun and dynamic environment
Facilitate networking between STEM colleagues from local schools and provide ideas for STEM activities that can be delivered in their own schools
Develop leadership and communication skills for hub- school students

4. Partnership engagement
Secondary
Primary
Kings Norton Boys
St Albans
St Peters
St Bernards
Kings Norton Girls
St Chads
Kings Heath Boys
St Dunstans
John Henry Newman
St Edwards
St Martin de Porres
Our Lady of Lourdes

5. Schedule for the day

6. Schedule for the day - Secondary

7. Schedule for the day - Primary

8. Activities - Science Cartesian Diver Balloon Hovercraft
Balloon Rockets
Light on Top of a Tower

9. Activities - Maths Town planning Abseiling action man Barbie bungee
Tessellations

10. Activities - Technology
Flying Objects
Structures
Egg Car
Egg Drop

11. Feedback Highlights for visiting students
“doing all the different activities from the different subjects”
“working with my friends, and making new ones”
“doing experiments to see what worked and what didn’t”

12. Feedback Highlights for visiting staff
“Seeing our students working independently as part of a team”
“Year 8 student leaders were particularly impressive in their ability to enthuse and communicate with the Year 7 visiting students”

13. Feedback Highlights for student leaders
“I feel more confident talking to new people”
“It was nice to help teach the younger students stuff about science”
“I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did!”

14. Adaptation based on feedback
New activities added this year based on feedback about the length of the activities from last year:
Bionic hand (Science) – making a “robotic” hand using cardboard, straws and wire so that the fingers can be moved independently to grip and lift objects
Chocolate Welding (Technology) – connecting chocolate bars through melting and cooling to create a sturdy bridge (pretty messy!)
Stacking Cups (Maths) – students are not allowed to touch the cups, but are instead given some plastic bands to see who can build the tallest cup tower

15. Sustainability
Both fairs built into the calendar to be repeated each year, keeping the additional activities, as the feedback from these was really positive.
Primary STEM fair built into Primary Science Week in July – exploring the concept of creating an Ogden Primary Partnership to continue activities needing higher funding
Secondary STEM fair requires minimal funding and has been built into budget for next year

16. Main challenges
Engagement from partnership schools, involving organising students and allowed cover
Staff time and organisation for training student leaders
Depends on good relationships for collaboration between STEM-subject teachers

17. Main strengths
Multi-school activity for both Primary and Secondary partnership schools
Delivered mainly by students, developing leadership and ambassador skills
Developed each year based on feedback from participants
Sustainable activity, efficient funding (approximate costs £5-6 per student)

18. Thank you for listening!