Virtual BT British Science Week inspires wide-ranging STEM discussions in Year 6

As an alternative to our annual Year 6 visit to the British Science Week exhibition at BT HQ, students participated in a virtual version of this fascinating event.

Joining a series of extra-curricular sessions, led by Mr Severy, girls explored videos and activities produced by the BT Community Engagement Team. They featured a range of industry-leading experts exploring real-life examples of ground-breaking developments in STEM research, under the general theme of ‘STEAM for good’. The areas covered included cyber security, smart cities, creative media, drones and health & sports science.
 
Each video inspired wide-ranging whole-class discussions around how these technological developments might affect the girls’ lives in the future and the global issues that they might be able to solve.

Mr Severy, Computer Science Coordinator in Junior School comments: "The level of interest and insight that the girls displayed, and the maturity with which they were able to discuss serious and complex issues was extremely impressive. We hope that the girls have been inspired by exploring some of the real-world applications of STEAM subjects and can see their own potential for a possible future career in a STEM-related industry."

Discussions spanned everything from computer viruses, international espionage and data security, the ‘Internet of Things’, air pollution and real-time sensing, 3D computer modelling, the greenhouse effect and climate change, through to photosynthesis, potential life on other planets, autonomous vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, miniature cameras for use inside the body, and even horse manure as an early city pollutant!
 
STEM in Junior School

Last year's visit to BT