NEWS RELEASE
SIMCOE COUNTY DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
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Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) students in grades 5 to 8 will be participating in the 6th annual model building and testing competition on March 5, 2016 at Eastview Secondary School, located at 421 Grove Street East in Barrie.
This competition is being held in conjunction with the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), Simcoe-Muskoka Chapter and The Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT), Georgian Bay Chapter, as part of National Engineering Month (NEM).
Students will build bridges, catapults and cars according to guidelines provided by PEO and OACETT.
Students can also build and test crystal set radios and a small water treatment system during the event, with guidance from local chapter engineer and technologist volunteers.
Students typically work in small teams of two to four, or they can work individually.
There will also be a hands-on demonstration of the $35 RaspberryPi, the credit card-sized computer geared towards teaching basic coding to elementary and secondary school students.
On competition day, student teams will submit their bridges, catapults and cars for assessment based on:
- a short presentation of their design;
- design creativity, technique and aesthetics;
- quality of construction;
- functionality.
Each team will test their bridge strength to destruction, launch from their catapult at a target for accuracy or race their car.
In addition, students may build and test their crystal set radios and/or water treatment system.
The event timing for March 5 is as follows:
9 a.m. – registration
9:30 a.m. - model judging and testing begins for the various categories
3 p.m. – awards and event closing
Model builders (via their parents or teachers) are encouraged to pre-register by sending an email to [email protected] with a team name, team member names and which model competitions they plan to enter.
Students can enter a single competition (e.g. a catapult) or several (any combination of a bridge, a catapult, a car, but only one model of each type).
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