Primary 6a are busy today using papier-mâché to create the base for one of the planets in our Solar System!

After they are dry, each group will design their planet using glitter, tissue paper, paint and other materials.

We think that this will be an outstanding addition to our classroom ceiling!

Primary 6a participated in four ‘Mystery STEM Challenges’ during Think it Out Thursday as part of Maths Week Scotland. Each group was allocated a sealed box and an instruction card that stated the outcome that was to be achieved!

We applied our Problem Solving skills to a range of challenging situations.

Group 1 was allocated a ball of string and some plastic cups. Their challenge was to elevate all of the cups off of the ground at the same time using the string.  After much deliberation and a few trial and errors, the group designed a ‘cup washing line’.

The second group had the challenge of creating the tallest tower that they could out of jellybeans and cocktail sticks! The main issue was that the tower began twisting at certain points, so the group had to engineer a way to stop this from happening.

Group 3 managed to elevate a basketball off of the ground by creating a newspaper tower with a stable base and a strong internal column!

The tallest balloon tower challenge was completed by group four, who decided that creating a large stable base was the best starting point. The balloons became smaller as the tower grew in order to ensure that it didn’t tip over.

Overall, Think it Out Thursday was a success and we are looking forward to more STEM challenges this year!

Primary 6a have really been enjoying Maths Week!  Between fostering a Growth Mindset, solving problems and participating in workshops, there has been an adventure every day so far!

Here are some pictures from Challenge Tuesday where we created Thinking Caps for Miss Montgomery, applying our knowledge of circumference and measure, and built strong and stable rockets over 1.5m high out of K’NEX!

We are really excited to see where the rest of the week takes us and remember to keep thinking – I JUST CAN’T DO IT…YET!