Our STEM fair
Every two years, we organise the Evendons STEM fair, a celebration of all things STEM: science, technology, engineering and maths.
Research shows that children from as young as five have ingrained stereotypical views about the jobs people do based on their gender, ethnicity and social background (Starting Early, Chris Percy and Alice Amegah).
We believe that career-related learning can help children broaden their horizons, overcome stereotypes, and become more motivated in class; an event such as our STEM fair gives pupils a wealth of inspiring experiences.
Children can try activities such as extracting DNA from strawberries, virtual reality headsets, experiencing static electricity, blending smoothies on a bicycle (force transmission!), building a real-size functioning go-cart headed to Goodwood Gathering of Goblins, and many more. To top it all off, the school’s mascot Techo regularly makes an appearance, occasionally bumping into his colleague 'AL the coding robot' (picture below).
Meet the professionals
We want to inspire Evendons pupils, as well as children from neighbouring schools, by giving them the opportunity to meet a wide variety of STEM professionals. Wokingham attracts many professionals in STEM subjects, and we are delighted to be able to involve them in our fair. We regularly have representatives from: Johnson and Johnson, Thames Water, BP, Rockwell and Wilmott Dixon well as Splunk (McLaren) who brought in a Formula 1 simulator.
The fair is a great opportunity to develop links with local businesses, and for the pupils to reinforce the links between the STEM subjects.
STEM fair & external visitors
Outcomes
The STEM fair never fails to renewed vigour and passion for STEM subjects across our school.
Children are introduced to industries, technologies, and types of engineering they might had never encountered before, and have the invaluable opportunity to speak directly with professionals from those fields. From the very youngest, our children are able to articulate their preferences (e.g. civil engineering, medical scientist), and ask questions to the exhibitors.
As a result, pupils truly grasp the breadth of STEM careers: the excitement is palpable, with children exploring their own interests, developing a sense of purpose, and beginning to imagine a future filled with inspirational and meaningful work.
I loved the STEM fair because the really fun activities taught me about the different jobs I could do in science when I am older.
Karina, Year 5
Heartfelt thanks go to everyone who regularly gives up their time to help create a range of diverse and fascinating experiences for the children, including STEM ambassadors, senior schools, local societies and our own parent body and Parent Teacher Association.