Today, the whole school were set an exciting STEM Challenge: to construct a chair made from newspaper and tape. Firstly, we needed to think about what a chair actually is, so we reviewed the definition of a chair. Principally, a chair is: 'A separate seat for one person, typically
with a back and four legs’. The rules for KS2 were as follows:
•The chair must have at least 4 points of contact with the floor.
•The structure must be free- standing, i.e. not supported by anyone or anything.
•In the event of a tie break, the winning chair will be the one that holds the team member the greatest distance from the floor.
•When tested, the person must have their feet off the ground, i.e. their body weight is completely supported by the structure.
The houses ventured off to their respective meeting areas, where they were put into smaller groups. After building their chair, the teams came together to decide which one chair would represent the whole house at the end of the day. Ultimately, Howard were victorious but all the staff were blown away by the attitudes of the children and their work ethic.
•The chair must have at least 4 points of contact with the floor.
•The structure must be free- standing, i.e. not supported by anyone or anything.
•In the event of a tie break, the winning chair will be the one that holds the team member the greatest distance from the floor.
•When tested, the person must have their feet off the ground, i.e. their body weight is completely supported by the structure.
The houses ventured off to their respective meeting areas, where they were put into smaller groups. After building their chair, the teams came together to decide which one chair would represent the whole house at the end of the day. Ultimately, Howard were victorious but all the staff were blown away by the attitudes of the children and their work ethic.
KS1 and Foundation took part in the challenge, too. The objective was adjusted so groups made a chair which supported a teddy bear. Everyone enjoyed looking at the the various creations that were displayed at the end of the day. A big thank you to everyone who has donated newspapers over the last 2 weeks.
