As part of the STEAM space challenges in collaboration with MIT, our secondary students worked on the MOXIE challenge, presented by Dr. Jeff Hoffmann, professor of aeronautics at MIT. The students were challenged to design a filtering device that could produce clean oxygen on Mars. Our students have been highly engaged in this challenge and we have received fantastic projects from our pupils.
Dr. Jeff Hoffmann, professor at MIT.
Some secondary students STEAM projects
You can check the results of the amazing projects presented by BCB students videos by clicking on this link. The MIT Challenges have engaged students to work collaboratively and develop scientific skills. In order to complete the challenge, students needed to listen and consider the views of others and consider a range of possibilities before making decisions. They should also exhibit an ability to create solutions that are unconventional. Throughout the challenge, students have displayed curiosity in how things work at a scientific level and have asked the right types of questions to further one's learning. They have created opportunities for scientific explanation and have improved critical-thinking skills through the experimentation process.
A movie recommendation related to this challenge`s theme is The Martian, from 2015, starring Matt Damon. The film depicts an astronaut's lone struggle to survive on Mars after being left behind, and the efforts of NASA to rescue him and bring him home to Earth. The students could relate the fact that being lost on Mars might cause lack of oxygen supply, and the need of creating a device that could produce oxygen in that atmosphere.
The Martian poster release, 2015
For term 3, the STEAM challenge`s theme is sustainability. Scientists must have a concern about impacts caused by space exploration with regards to debris produced by inoperative satellites. In this challenge, presented by Dr. Danielle Wood, students are invited to think how they can take care of space and design satellites that leave no trace in space. Further information about this new challenge will be provided during your science lessons this term!
