Page 26 - Journal 2018A

Mission to Mars
UniSA STEM Innovation Experience 2018
Anita Trenwith
UniSA Connect O cer
The University of South Australia is conducting the STEM Innovation Experience (STEMIE) to increase STEM
engagement in schools and increase awareness of STEM in the wider community. With organisations such as NASA and Space X setting goals to get humans to Mars, this year STEMIE is based around the theme of travelling to the red planet.
STEMIE is aimed at year 10/11 students and is designed to increase STEM engagement by immersing the STEM tasks into the curriculum. Schools can engage with the minimum group of six students or embed the tasks across the entire year level, giving schools exibility on how they deliver the program. This year the program is in its third year with 19 schools involved from metropolitan Adelaide, Whyalla and Mt Gambier regions.
STEMIE has three major components:
Phase 1 – The Learning Experience
Students complete STEM-focused tasks within their schools based around a proposal to travel to Mars. The proposal consists of science, technology, engineering, and maths tasks as well as an overall summary report.
Science – Students investigate through practical investigation impacts on the human body during space travel (including physiology, psychology and nutrition).
Technology – Students create an Environmental Control System (ECS)
using electronics, sensors and computer programming. The ECS needs to respond
to temperature uctuations, light intensity changes and additional conditions chosen by the students.
Engineering – Students design and construct a vehicle to autonomously navigate a terrain track within set parameters (including how to package and deploy on Mars).
Mathematics – Students create mathematical models to explore nancial considerations
for catering on the journey. This includes mathematically justifying meal plans, recommended dietary intakes and catering for special dietary requirements.
The overall summary report for the Mars Mission proposal summarises the STEM tasks completed at school. It includes aspects of how STEMIE was incorporated within the school site and how the school promoted STEM both within the school and wider community.
The learning phase is supported by a
teacher induction session to explain program requirements and to allow for discussion around how the activities can be incorporated into the classroom. Selected students from each participating school also attend a training day at their closest UniSA campus. Participating schools have access to the UniSA STEM Innovation Experience Moodle site, complete with handy hints, resources, lesson ideas and discussion forums to help support the tasks at school.
24 | SASTA Journal