Mars Mission
Students complete STEM challenges based around a proposal for a mission to Mars.
Students cost the catering for the mission and justified nutritional requirements, they create astronaut selection criteria based on their investigations and research, engineer a Mars rover to navigate a set terrain track and code an environmental control system to demonstrate how living conditions could be regulated.
Adelaide University is inviting your students to take part in a STEM Innovation Experience. This involves students participating in a series of STEM-based tasks based around a central theme and showcasing their learning.
Activities commence each year for Year 9,10 and/or 11 students from secondary schools in Metropolitan Adelaide, Whyalla, Mount Gambier, Victorian, Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory regions. We had over 500 students from schools across South Australia, Queensland and Victoria, involved in STEMIE and hope to see this number grow as we introduce more interstate teams. Schools can engage one or more classes, or a targeted group of students. Schools will need to select up to six (6) students as their representatives at their Regional Showcase event.
The STEM Innovation Experience has three major components
- The Learning Phase – Students will engage in STEM-focused problems to solve at school based around a central theme. They will design science experiments, create mathematical models using spreadsheets and use the engineering design process and Arduino coding to build prototypes.
- Regional Showcase – Student representatives will showcase the learning from the tasks through an online judging event.
- STEMIE Excursion – Winning schools from each Regional Showcase will be invited to send a team to the STEMIE Excursion. This is a full day excursion at an Adelaide University campus to experience hands-on STEM activities and network with other like-minded students.
This AU STEMIE site is a central place where students and teachers can access resources, assessment information and updates throughout the Experience.
Schools that have returned a signed acceptance letter will receive sponsorship in the form of some seed equipment from Adelaide University.
If there are questions about STEMIE feel free to email Anita.Trenwith@adelaide.edu.au.