A group of year six students at St Peter's Primary are giving their peers the chance to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) by hosting lunchtime challenges.
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William Abell, Liam Poppleton, Tom Rosenbaum, Ryder Day and Tobey Pol are the masterminds behind the project which is all about giving younger students a problem to solve or a challenge to complete with a STEM focus.
The boys call themselves the Steam Pits and host the lunchtime challenge twice a week for different year levels.
They already have over dozen challenges ready for the coming weeks.
"We really wanted to do something for students as we don't have much of an opportunity to do STEM stuff in class," William said.
"I guess we are just putting together challenges that we think we would have really enjoyed when we were in the younger classes and making sure they have a STEM focus," Liam said.
"We usually run the same activity twice so that everyone can have a go. First we did a paper airplane challenge to see who could fly the longest distance and now we are doing the Lego Meteor Shower challenge where student had to make a paper cup tower to stand up against Lego," Tom said.
The boys said they have been getting inspiration for the challenges from a range of different places but the main aim is for everyone to have fun.
"So far everyone has really enjoyed all the challenges we have created and everyone has had lots of fun. In the first challenge we have a Kinder throw a paper plane over 11 metres which was awesome," Tobey said.
"It is a chance for students' imagination to run wild and to get excited about STEM so maybe they think about that for a job after school. That might be a long way off for some of us but if we get excited at a young age who knows where it can lead," Ryder said.
"It is great to watch everyone getting involved in the activities and thinking outside the box about different things," William said.
"We have lots of challenges in the planning stage including paddlepop stick bridge making, a coding challenge and a domino pattern making activity. We sit down together and think about fun things and see how we can add a STEM focus," Tobey said.
The Steam Pits host challenges twice a week with many students eager to know when they are eligible to attend.
"We have had so many students come up and ask when it will be their turn which is so cool."
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