This highly engaging STEM activity is an ideal entry point for students and teachers to who have considered involvement in F1 in Schools. This program can be delivered within school hours, as part of an after school STEM club, as an extension task for high flyers or as an engagement activity in Tier 3 settings.

Students design, construct, test and compare their own small (model) boats. You can choose to power them with balloons, rubber-bands, sails or electric motors…whatever suits your learning objectives. Worried that you don’t have anywhere to test them? A 5.5m test tank can be brought to your school!

Fewer and fewer students get the opportunity to perform dissections. Many students I teach in pre-tertiary Biology say they never had the opportunity in primary or secondary school. Demonstrations can be provided for students Prep to Year 12. Dissections can be performed by students Year 5 and above.

The Tasmanian Science Talent Search (TSTS) promotes scientific literacy for students of all ages and has done for over 60 years! Each year, it is linked to the Science Week theme. Having written a number of the challenges as a past Director, Doug Grubert Education is well placed to help your school excel.

Increased use of the quasi-scientific phrase, ‘Do your own research’, in the post-COVID world shows the need for greater understanding of the differences between ‘Inquiry’ and ‘Experiment’ as ways of constructing meaning. Knowledge of experimental design is integral to authentic scientific literacy.

A fun demonstration with numerous “hands-on” elements. You’ll learn about some of the amazing properties of Dry Ice (frozen Carbon Dioxide). Especially relevant to the Australian Curriculum for Year 3 & Year 5 Chemical Sciences, but just as interesting for other students too!

Paper Rockets are a great way to introduce students to an Engineering Design Process. Students utilise fine motor skills, design think-ing, measurement, prototypes and evaluation (all while competing for fame and glory). Air-powered and suitable for indoor construction and testing. Best suited for Year 2-Year 6.

Joined by internationally acclaimed climbers Paul Pritchard and John Middendorf, we deliver an inspiring workshop where empathy serves as the catalyst for students to engage in an Engineering Design Process. The most popular Problem Solver Challenge at the It Takes a SPARK! Conference in 2021 & 2022.

Looking for a slightly different project to embed Food & Fibre as part of your school’s approach to Design & Technology? This DIY bouldering bucket is a great project to help students understand manufacturing as it applies to textiles. What could be more rewarding than making your own kit?

Many career educators know ‘Everything old will be new again’. In the 1970s - 1990s, Tasmania was a hotbed of innovation for kayak manufacturing. Many teachers built watercraft with students. You can be part of the revival! Best suited to students in Year 9 - Year 12.

Do you have students who are already Makers? Maybe you prefer to take on big challenges rather than starting small? Step up to the next level with this custom-built bouldering mat. It rivals the best commercially available products in the world.

Students design, construct, test and evaluate a Semaphore. An outstanding integration of Design & Technology, History & ICT. This challenge offers a first hand exploration of information processing in a fun, analog and concrete manner. If you like WiFi you’re going to love Wireless Communication 1800s style!