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An Electric Car, Reptiles & Raspberry Pi at The Big Bang @ Rye College

 January 30 2015 | Kent & Medway | Views: 1818

What have 400 students, an Electric Car and a 14ft 5.5 stone snake got in common?
-They were all key ingredients in an exciting Big Bang Near Me event at Rye College.

Primary school students from the local Rye area attended The Big Bang Fair @ Rye College on Friday 30 January to experience a variety of exciting STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) activities.

Pupils designed their own electric cars of the future inspired by the Renault ZOE, a 100% electric car, after watching two ZOE’s race head to head on a giant Scalextric track around central London. With Block Builders they used Minecraft to build structures and plan a town. Brave staff and students held reticulated pythons and bearded dragons whilst the team from East Sussex Reptile Society shared their knowledge with great passion. The University of Sussex allowed students to play the virtual reality game ‘BeABee’ giving students a bee’s eye view of the world. The students from Rye College also ran activities including making your own edible ice cream.

Dr Ajay Sharman, STEMNET South East Regional Network Manager stated that he was “Delighted to see secondary school pupils within the Rye Academy and those from the local primary schools involved in the Big Bang Near Me. Pupils and teachers were able to meet real role models, known as STEM Ambassadors, from industry and academia and were able to enthuse and inspire a new generation of young people in STEM and careers in STEM”

Organiser and STEM consultant Ges Cocker commented “The feedback from every provider was incredibly positive. Numerous activity providers asked me to thank the schools and their students for being so engaged and enthusiastic. Many of the organisations deliver at similar events and at the larger national events; they all said how much they had enjoyed the day and the interaction with the students. This sort of event impact and success can only happen when students are fully engaged and leave with lasting memories. That will only happen when the students experience high quality engaging presentations, activities and interactions provided by people who not only know there stuff but present it with a passion and fun.

Shila from Fuze Education said “I can honestly say that we really enjoyed Friday at The Big Bang @ Rye College. The students were really great and the teachers were involved and receptive, which makes a huge impact on the students. The organisation of the event was great. Not only did we feel that the students really got something from our sessions but we got the chance to show the FUZE off to their teachers and other key influencers, which is valuable for us commercially.” The FUZE is a programmable computer and electronics workstation powered by the Raspberry Pi, supporting schools in meeting the requirements of the new National Curriculum for computing.

Kent & Medway STEM is hosting a Big Bang Fair @ Discovery Park on Friday 20 March 2015 for secondary school pupils. To find your local Big Bang Fair please visit http://nearme.thebigbangfair.co.uk/


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