Deakin STEM AwardsInvestigate • Design • Calculate • Communicate

Deakin SEBEDeakin University's Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment is excited to present the Deakin STEM Awards, a STEM competition run during National Science Week for students from grade prep to year 12.

Investigate • Design • Calculate • Communicate‘Investigate • Design • Calculate • Communicate’ reflects the project based learning model employed by Deakin University. Students will complete a STEM project in pairs, to present to judges at the main event at Deakin's Waurn Ponds campus.

Who Can Enter

There are six levels of entry:

• Grade prep - 2

• Grade 3 - 4

• Grade 5 - 6

• Year 7 - 8

• Year 9 - 10

• Year 11 - 12 (Year 11 - 12 students will be encouraged to present one of their VCE/VET school assessments as their entry.)

All students in Victoria are welcome to enter.

The project categories for entry are:

• Science Investigation

• Engineering Design

• Maths Solution

If you're unsure which category your students project most suits, have a look at the judging criteria at the end of this booklet, and feel free to contact the organisers to discuss.

The maximum number of projects Deakin can accommodate on the day is 200 in total. Students should work in pairs, but can work individually if submitting VCE/VET assessments.

Deakin STEM AwardsInvestigate • Design • Calculate • Communicate

From DeakinSchools will be supplied with this guidebook, including project ideas, guides, and poster boards, and have the opportunity to ‘borrow’ a STEM student ambassador for two hours a week during their planning stage (up to one term). There is no cost to schools to be involved.

You MUST register your interest to go on the mailing list for this event (see back page).

TimelineDate EventEarly May Open for registrations via

Eventbrite – a reminder email will be sent out several days before

June Deakin students available to run introductory activities with students

July Deakin students available to assist students with projects (2 hours a week)

Last day of July All project titles must be submitted

Tuesday of National Science Week

Primary school Deakin STEM Awards

Wednesday of National Science Week

Secondary school Deakin STEM Awards

Judging and AwardsStudents will arrive by 9.30am on judging day and have until 10am to set up their posters. Poster boards will be set up with their names and project title; students will attach their investigation / design presentation to the poster board using blue tac, which will be supplied.

Deakin student ambassadors will be assisting students on the day with setting up their projects, calming nerves and keeping students engaged.

Judges will be chosen from Deakin academic staff, scientists and engineers working in industry, and members of the community. Projects will be judged between 10am and 12.30pm.

An award ceremony will be held at 1:30pm at the end of judging day. Students will be asked to come up and receive their prize.

Schools will depart at 2.30pm.

The Big Day

Prep - Grade 6When Tuesday of National Science Week

Where Deakin University, Waurn Ponds campus

Time 9.30am–2.30pm

Lunch BYO or can be purchased from cafes on campus

Year 7 - Year 12When Wednesday of National Science Week

Where Deakin University, Waurn Ponds campus

Time 9.30am–2.30pm

Lunch BYO or can be purchased from cafes on campus

Primary science ideas

• Will it sink or will it float• Rotten teeth (eggshells vs. soft drinks)• Make a volcano • Jumping pepper• Dancing sultanas• Film canister rocket• Making slime• Plastic from milk• Cartesian diver• Colour changing flowers• Making geodes• Investigate water tension• Amount of sugar in drinks• Soap in a microwave• Invisible ink• Backyard herbarium collection• Science of bubbles• Weather related• Exploring soil• Growing seeds• Classifying seeds• Birds in my garden• Why does popcorn pop• Meteor craters and speed• Build a bug hotel. Who shows up?• Best way to clean old coins• Growing bread mould• Create a nature journal• Homemade hand warmer• Trackways – dinosaur footprints• Changes in states• Keeping popcorn crunchy for longer• Train your pet to do a new trick

Secondary science ideas

• Electricity conductors• Heat conductors• Properties of different materials• The effect of ... on plant growth• Rates of fruit rotting• Phototropism in plants• Bug survey• Aspirin in tablets• Separation of mixtures• The science of social media• The effect of ... on bacterial growth• Making crystals• Mirror science• Interpreting Big Data• Nutrient in food• Kitchen science• Are people with glasses better at maths?• Effect of temperature on rubber ball bounce• Psychology tests e.g. girls vs. boys or young vs. old• Measuring the speed of sound• Exploring density• Does music help or distract from study• Best composting method in the garden• Which fabric keeps you coolest• Forensic investigation• Investigate the strengths of different fibres• Best way to clean polluted water• Investigating agricultural science• Make a genetic pedigree of your family• Life in a pond• Geology of my area (with samples)Or• Submit a VCE or VET/VCAL Assessment Task

Science InvestigationScientists are curious. They investigate, research, and discover new things every day. They are detectives, wonderers and explorers.

Investigations

Tips for teachersAssist your students with their investigation ideas and consider what is and isn't possible within your school. If a student wants to purchase E. coli cultures or buy a camera drone as part of their experiment, ask them to rethink their plan.

If you're unfamiliar with a science concept the students are interested in, be honest and take some time to read up on it. If they want to include a water-wine-milk-beer demonstration, for example, be careful of agreeing straight away because it is more complicated and hazardous than it sounds.

Parents will want to help, and if they come from a STEM background this can make judging difficult. All we can do as judges is trust that the projects are the students own work.

The investigation flowcharts are included at the end of this document, and can be given to

students if suitable. They do not need to be submitted with the poster. They will have space in front of their poster to include any props or equipment they want for their presentation.

Being able to communicate their findings and answer questions is as important as the actual project following the scientific method. The judges will have STEM backgrounds so may have some challenging (but level appropriate) questions for students.

Remember that these invesigations are not purely the domain of the sciences. Mathematics, geography, design and technology, digital technologies, health, physical education, nearly all disciplines can be involved in this.

Finally, remember you have access to Deakin University STEM students if required, for two hours a week during the investgation process.

Primary engineering ideas

• Build a bristle bot

• Design a sustainable house

• Catapults!

• Build a bridge

• Design, build and test a new type of kite

• Redesign a plastic toy to be environmentally friendly

• Lego machines

• Magnets

• Rocket design

• Engineering a story (e.g. three little pigs house)

• Build a famous structure

• Paper airplane design

• Parachute challenge

• Scribble bot

• Balloon powered car

• Egg drop

• Make a new musical instrument

• Design a farm for the future

• Build a colony on Mars

• Focus on sustainability

• Make a computer game

• Recycling rubbish

• Clean up an oil spill

• Newspaper tower

• Coding challenge

• Marble run/maze

• Design an earthquake proof house

• Build a computer game

• Make a simple circuit

• Design a new playground

Engineering DesignEngineers are problem solvers. They design, test and create new solutions to old problems every day. They are the tinkerers, world builders and inventors.

’Runt volorem. Ehenda volument es doluptati consequam comnite que eat’

Secondary engineering ideas

• Design a home of the future

• Code a robot to do a task

• Build a walking robot

• Arduino creations

• Advanced rocket design

• Complex circuits

• Balsa wood creations

• Rubber-band powered car

• Design a farm for the future

• Build a colony on Mars

• Focus on sustainability

• Investigate the strengths of different fibres

• Make a computer game

• Make a zip-line toy

• Formulate your own cosmetics

• Design a new zoo

• Design an agricultural robot• Create a computer generated animation

• Defying physics - balance toys

Designs

Tips for teachers

Assist your students with their engineering designs and consider what is and isn't possible within your school. If a student wants to purchase expensive software or 3D printing in titanium as part of their design, ask them to rethink their plan.

If you're unfamiliar with an engineering or design concept the students are interested in, be honest and take some time to read up on it. Include other teachers who may have a more closely-aligned background.

Parents will want to help, and if they come from a STEM background this can make judging difficult. All we can do at Deakin is trust that the projects are the students own work.

The design flowcharts are included at the end of this document, and can be given to students if suitable. They do not need to be

submitted with the poster. If they have created a prototype or product, there will be space to place this in front of their poster. In this case the poster will mostly reflect the design process.

Being able to communicate their findings and answer questions is as important as the actual project following the design method. The judges will have STEM backgrounds so may have some challenging (but level appropriate) questions for students.

Remember that these projects are not purely the domain of engineers. Science, mathematics, geography, design and technology, digital technologies, health, physical education, nearly all disciplines can be involved in this.

Finally, remember you have access to Deakin University STEM students if required, for two hours a week during the investigation process.

• Build a solar oven

• Model cities

• Rube Goldberg machines

• Hydraulic machines

• Build an art-creating machine

• Build an Archimedes screw

• Design new active wear with wearable tech

• Recreate an ancient structure

• 3D print a medical device

• Design a new school building in CAD

• Build an underwater city

• Make a water filter

• Clean up an oil spill

• A new source of electricity?

• Create a VR experience in Unity

• 'Internet of Things' model house

• Design an app that helps vulnerable people

Or

• Submit a VCE or VET/VCAL assessment task

7

Maths SolutionMathematicians are creative. They calculate, analyse and solve difficult problems in new and exciting ways. They are the code-breakers, puzzle-solvers and architects.

Primary maths ideas

• How many ways can we make $10

• Shapes in our world

• Fun with informal units

• Creating a historical timeline

• My age in years, months, weeks, days and hours

• Making a pirate map with directions

• Fruity fractions

• How much does our shopping list cost?

• Finding patterns in timetables

• The history of telling the time

• Comparing sizes of famous monuments

• Measuring the height of trees in the school yard

• Are older people taller?

• Measuring my family (height/age etc.)

• How much water do I use a day?

• A year and a day on other planets

• Exploring 20-sided dice

• Measuring the speed of passing cars using a stopwatch

• How much will my dream holiday cost?

• Famous mathematicians and their maths

• How to cheat at minigolf using angles

• Make a maths board game

• Crack the secret code

• Designing company logos using geometry

• If the world were a village - populations

• The maths of Minecraft

• Geoboards

• Measuring our school garden

• Our school as picture graphs

Secondary maths ideas

• The maths of computer game design

• Sine waves in nature

• Fibonacci in nature

• Physics of motion

• Tricky Trigonometry

• Famous maths equations

• Explaining superannuation / homeloans

• Why gambling doesn’t pay

• Star constellations in 3D

• Calculating our family budget

• Exploring the z-axis

• How much paint will I need

• Comparing supermarket value

• Hack-a-thon results

• Metric vs. imperial units

• The travelling salesman problem

• Exploring population demographics

• Avogadro and Planck: imagining irrational numbers

• Design a house using geometry/pythagoras

• My life as a box plot

• Exploring misleading media statistics

• The maths of epidemics

• Weather vs. climate

• The maths of music

• The maths of art/The art of maths

• Geographic Information Systems

• What comes after Moore's law - predicting the future

Or

• Submit a VCE or VET/VCAL assessment task

Tips for teachersSolutions

Assist your students with their maths projects and consider what is and isn't possible within your school. If a student wants to access massive amounts of online data or 3D printing a model as part of their project, ask them to rethink their plan.

If you're unfamiliar with an mathematical concept the students are interested in, be honest and take some time to read up on it. Include other teachers who may have a more closely-aligned background.

Parents will want to help, and if they come from a STEM background this can make judging difficult. All we can do at Deakin is trust that the projects are the students own work.

The maths solutions are included at the end of this document, and can be given to students if suitable. They do not need to be submitted with the poster. If they have created a model

or have other props, there will be space to place this in front of their poster. In this case the poster will mostly reflect the solution.

Being able to communicate their findings and answer questions is as important as the actual project following the method. The judges will have STEM backgrounds so may have some challenging (but level appropriate) questions for students.

Remember that these projects are not purely the domain of mathematicians. Science, engineering, physics, geography, design and technology, digital technologies, health, physical education, business management, nearly all disciplines can be involved in this.

Finally, remember you have access to Deakin University STEM students if required, for two hours a week during the investigation process.

Science Investigation (primary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Research question Is my research question easy to understand?

Did I explain why I chose this topic? Did I include a hypothesis (if needed)?

Method Did I choose my materials carefully? Did I list any equipment I have used? Did I explain how I ran the experiment step-by-step?

Did I take measurements during my experiment? Did I use the correct units?

Observations and results

Have I presented my results in a clear, easy-to-read way? Have I used tables, graphs, photos, descriptions (where needed)?

Discussion Have I explained my results well? Have I explained any outliers (measurements that don’t fit)?

Have I explained how my results link to my research question? Do they prove my hypothesis?

If I did my experiment again, what would I change? What problems did I have in my experiment?

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: Have I created an easy-to-read poster? Have I used a suitable title? Have I been creative in making my poster? Have I used the space in front of my poster well?Presentation: Have I practised my presentation? Am I prepared for any questions the judges might ask? Has everyone in my group presented a part of the experiment?

Science Investigation (secondary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Research question Research question is well thought out and

shows prior research. Hypothesis is included (if applicable)

Method Materials and method are clear, logical and concise.

Any measurement taken are accurate and include the correct units.

Observations and results

Results are presented in a clear, easy-to-read way. Tables, graphs, photos, descriptions are included where needed.

Discussion Results are explained well and outliers are recognised.

Results are linked back to the research question and hypothesis.

Any changes or problems are discussed with possible solutions if the experiment was run again.

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: The poster is easy-to-read with a suitable title. The student has been creative in making the poster. The space in front of the poster has been used well.Presentation: The presentation of the project is clear, with all group members contributing. Students are prepared for questions from judges, and are able to answer clearly and confidently.

Engineering Design (primary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Problem to solve Is my problem easy to understand? Did I

explain why I chose this topic? Did I explain how I can solve the problem?

Research Have I researched my problem? Have I included a mind-map of possible solutions?

Design - Test Have I shown my original ideas and design before creating my prototype? This can be written or drawn.Have I shown how I created my prototype? Have I explained any problems I had?

How did I test my prototype? Have I recorded my results correctly? Have I included photos (if needed) about the testing?Have I included a diagram of my final prototype? Have I labelled my diagram correctly? Is it clear and easy to understand?

Analysis Have I explained if my prototype solves my problem?

If I redesigned my prototype again, what would I change?

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: Have I created an easy-to-read poster? Have I used a suitable title? Have I been creative in making my poster? Have I used the space in front of my poster well?Presentation: Have I practised my presentation? Am I prepared for any questions the judges might ask? Has everyone in my group presented a part of the design?

Engineering Design (secondary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Problem to solve Problem is well articulated and explained.

Possible solution is given.

Research Research into this problem is demonstrated. A mind-map or other research notes have been shown.

Design - Test Original ideas and design, written or drawn, is shown.

The creation of a prototype is shown. Any issues encountered is explained.

Testing of the prototype is shown, with data collected. Photos are included if necessary.

A labelled diagram of the final prototype is included, and is clear and easy to understand.

Analysis Does the solution solve the original problem?

What changes would the student make if they worked on this project again?

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: The poster is easy-to-read with a suitable title. The student has been creative in making the poster. The space in front of the poster has been used well.Presentation: The presentation of the project is clear, with all group members contributing. Students are prepared for questions from judges, and are able to answer clearly and confidently.

Maths Solution (primary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Maths problem and estimate

Have I described why I chose that problem? Is my maths problem easy to understand? Have I estimated what my result might be?

Research plan Did I describe my research plan (flowchart)? Did I show how I researched this topic beforehand?

Data collection and method

Did I take measurements and collect data well? Did I use the correct units and mathematical symbols? Are my calculations correct?Did I use a suitable method for collecting my data? Did I make sure it was coming from a reliable source?

Observations and results

Have I presented my findings in a clear, easy-to-read way? Have I used tables, graphs, photos, descriptions (where needed)?

Discussion Have I explained my results well? Have I explained any outliers (measurements that don’t fit)?

Have I explained how my results solve my maths problem?

If I did my project again, what would I change? What problems did I have in solving my problem?

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: Have I created an easy-to-read poster? Have I used a suitable title? Have I been creative in making my poster? Have I used the space in front of my poster well?Presentation: Have I practised my presentation? Am I prepared for any questions the judges might ask? Has everyone in my group presented a part of the solution?

Maths Solution (secondary)

In class High5-6

Med3-4

Low 2-1

Not shown

0Maths problem and estimate

Problem is well articulated and explained. Possible solution is given.

Research plan A research plan is shown as a flowchart. Research into this problem is demonstrated.

Data collection and method

Measurements are taken and data is collected and includes units and mathematicals symbols. Calculations that are included are correct.A suitable method of collecting first hand data is shown. Any second hand data has come from reliable sources.

Observations and results

Any results are presented in a suitable way (tables, graphs, etc.), the results are clear and easy to read.

Discussion Results are explained well and any outliers are accounted for.

The discussion addresses the original problem and provides a solution.

What changes would the student make if they worked on this project again?

On the day High10-8

Med7-5

Low 4-1

Not shown

0

Presentation Poster: The poster is easy-to-read with a suitable title. The student has been creative in making the poster. The space in front of the poster has been used well.Presentation: The presentation of the project is clear, with all group members contributing. Students are prepared for questions from judges, and are able to answer clearly and confidently.

Poster BoardsStudents projects should be presented on coreflute poster boards that are supplied on the day of the competition. Each school will be supplied with one poster board and on title board for the students to use at school as a template; they will then need to bring their projects along on the day and attached to the board for the judging.

Posters and boards can be taken back to school after the competition to be displayed for other students. We'll arrange to collect them in September/October.

Feedback2019 was the first year of the STEM Awards at Deakin. With 160 projects and 300 students participating, it was a massive success!

“I would like to say thank you to everyone involved in the STEM's school project at Deakin, it's a brilliant program and has certainly inspired both my daughters..” - Parent “Thank you so much for the amazing day. I had a lot of fun and it was an awesome experience. Getting second place was just the cherry on top. Thank you again and hope to see you next year.” - Student “Both my children were thrilled to participate...and to win! It was such a good experience for both. Thank you for the opportunity! They have already been discussing what they want to do for next year!” - Parent “A great day, and a wonderful opportunity for students around the region. Thank you to you and your team for all of the time and energy you put into the program.” – Teacher “Thanks again for a great day. Your student ambassadors were sensational too. The kids loved the day. We will happily support/attend any future projects you have in the pipelines.” – Teacher “Thank you for all the wonderful work you do to support our girls and spark an interest in STEM. Days like today have an enormous impact.” – Teacher “I just wanted to say thank you for organising yesterday! It was a really enjoyable experience. And would love to be a part of it again.” – Judge,

“Thanks for much for organising this amazing event. It was an absolute pleasure to spend the morning with the students and hear about their projects. It was a fantastic event, the guest speaker was amazing. Well done! Looking forward to the next one.” – Judge

“He was so very excited and we are so very proud of him. Could you please thank everyone involved as I really think this experience will change him forever in such a positive way. Thank you.” - Parent

Contact usYou MUST register your interest to go on the mailing list for this event.

Email: j.sautner@deakin.edu.au Telephone: 03 5227 8377

Deakin University 75 Pigdons Rd Waurn Ponds VIC 3220

Deakin University CRICOS Provider Code: 00113B

deakin.edu.au