“It was great to see students enthusiastically get involved in the activity and practice their problem solving, as well as logical, experimental and creative thinking skills, drawing on examples of bridges that they have seen before to determine which shapes are the strongest for creating their own bridge and supporting the ‘load’ of a can of baked beans!” reflects Lauren Hocking, Structural Engineer at Northrop, on the recent STEM Schools Challenge Field Day.
Sydney Science Park is a mixed-use greenfield development near the new Western Sydney Airport and will be developed through a partnership between CSIRO and Celestino Developments. It aims to be a ‘living lab’ and allow for researchers to try innovative ways of doing things and measure their success in a real city, so that it can then inform how future cities are designed.
There is a big cross disciplinary STEM effort into establishing Sydney Science Park, where students are encouraged to participate in real-life applications of STEM, Celestino and CSIRO have organised SSP STEM Schools Challenge. Lead by Angus Brien Northrop has been a strong supporter of this initiative for several years, as part of our commitment to the school communities getting involved in the important work that this precinct is doing. This is in addition to the engineering work we have been doing in the area.
In one action-packed day, more than four hundred students from Years 5–10 were split into groups of 15 to rotate between a range of STEM activities related to the development of a new city. Each station was run by different industry sponsors of the event and Northrop was excited to support this great initiative. These included stations that explored research into water, circular economy, transport, energy, smart cities, health, heat and our station, which was urban development.
Northrop ran a station that gave students a taste of structural engineering. The main activity involved encouraging students to imagine and plan a bridge that could be placed within the Sydney Science Park development to avoid floodwaters, and then creating it out of paddle pop sticks, pipe cleaners, cardboard, tape and glue. The students then tested whether the bridges were structurally sound by loading them with a can of baked beans. Throughout the Northrop activity students had the chance to ask questions about what a structural engineer does and Northrop’s role in construction projects such as Sydney Science Park.
Our Northrop team also found it insightful hearing of the other incredible STEM research that is happening. Thank you to Angela Schumacher for organising this fantastic initiative.
