The Big Bang Stem Competition

Three teams from Kingswood have been selected for the Finals of the national STEM competition The Big Bang, two Year 12 teams and a Year 11 team. This prestigious event takes place at the NEC in Birmingham and, over three days, attracts over 80,000 visitors.

The first Year 12 team (Alberta, Sophie, Florence, Phoebe and Manaka) ran a project they called Girls into school: leak free for you and me: reusable sanitary pads for Kenyan girls and women who can not afford disposable pads. In many slum areas in Kenya girls cannot attend school whilst menstruating, disadvantaging them severely. The team researched appropriate designs and materials, communicated with Kenyans about their experiences, and have produced and tested a range of pads. They have been chosen to go for a special awards: The Stantec Developing Future Communities Award AND The Army Humanitarian Aid Award. They hope eventually to supply materials and a sewing machine so the pads can be made locally: empowering women and girls even more.

The second team (Jackson, Anouk, Grace, Rufus) also up for the Stantec Developing Future Communities Award, came up with an idea for turning common airborne pollutants: the Isocyanides, into harmless chemicals which could fertilize a plant. The idea is that the reaction will take place within a plant pot-like container - the decorative nature of our product making it appealing for use in homes and workspaces. The group chose this project because they thought it looked like a problem that could be solved and, as the majority of the group has experienced asthma, which can be caused by isocyanides and similar airborne pollutants, they recognised how important it is to remove these from workspace air.

The Year 11 team, Cocoon, (Emily and Jamie) is also in the running for The Army Humanitarian Aid Award with their concept of a highly portable emergency shelter which has a pop up design utilising smart alloys to deploy the shelter when required and using recycled material from discarded festival tents. The Cocoon shelter is designed for people embarking on adventurous trekking trips where help may take some time to arrive and the team committed to giving one to a homeless person for each one purchased.