What will cities look like in 2050? How will they be powered to be vibrant, healthy and clean places to live? That’s the question Shell is posing to secondary students, aged 11-14, through The Bright Ideas Challenge, their new cross-curricular schools competition.
Shell has supported science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education in the UK for over 60 years. As part of their on-going work, they’re inviting students across Great Britain to participate in a brand new schools competition that will tap into the curiosity and ingenuity of the scientists and engineers of the future.
Teams will have to use their problem-solving skills and creative thinking to imagine innovative solutions to the energy challenges faced by future cities. The Challenge has been developed to support cross-curricular learning, drawing on topics and skills from various STEM subjects, alongside geography, English, D&T and computing.
You don’t have to register and there’s no limit to the number of teams a school can enter – so encourage as many students as possible to get involved! 11 regional winners will receive £1,500 to super-size STEM teaching at their school, a tablet computer for every team member and funded trips to Make the Future London – a four-day festival of ideas and innovation, hosted by Shell and taking place June 30- July 3, 2016. At the national final, one school will be crowned champion, receiving a total of £5,000 to support STEM teaching. With these prizes on offer, there’s every reason for schools to think big!
Shell have provided teachers with pretty much everything they need to run the Challenge, including a Teacher Toolkit packed full of education resources. Alongside this, there is a Student Workbook, introductory Challenge video and hands-on engineering activities. Teachers can simply go online and download all the resources they need to get started! Using the key themes in the Teacher Toolkit, students can complete their entries in as little as 2.5 hours, so anyone can still get involved!
The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 29th April. Teachers can download the resources, find out about the national, regional and student prizes at shell.co.uk/brightideaschallenge. Terms and Conditions apply.