Year 6 took part in a STEAM ( Science Technology Engineering And Mathematics) challenge. Their goal was to create a catapult to launch marshmallow ghosts as far as possible. They worked in teams to create plans considering: the materials they had available, how they would know the catapult was successful and finally how they would work together as a team. Working scientifically all groups decided to make it a fair test with everyone having access to the same equipment. We decided that each group would use the same person to launch the catapults. The distance would be measured in centimetres or metres. To ensure accurate results it was decided that each team would repeat their catapult launch three times. We discussed that scientists don’t just attempt an investigation once and conclude and evaluate. Repeated tests promote accuracy and ensure that results are reliable. Following design modifications after trails we conducted the catapult launch. The designs produced varying results. We discovered that the catapults that had a higher launch angle and lever system achieved the further distance. This activity enabled Year 6 to explore how levers work and supported learning about forces. The winning team created a catapult that was able to launch their marshmallow ghost over 4 metres! Congratulations to Matthew, Malakai and Max. Year 6 finished by evaluating their design process and practical. Conclusions were made about the effectiveness of the catapults created and how ‘Science Technology Engineering And Maths’ worked together to achieve the end result.
Y6 STEAM Challenge
