Science, spaghetti and schoolchildren…

Designed to stimulate imagination, encourage creative problem-solving and innovation, the youngsters were challenged to build the tallest tower that would be strong enough to hold an egg – using only blue tack and 12 spaghetti sticks. They also experimented with a range of other everyday materials such as wooden blocks, cotton reels and marbles to create a chain reaction effect, using the famous Honda cog advert as the basis for their ideas.

These inspiring ‘Creative Science’ activities form part of a wider £6m STEM programme that has just been launched by East Midlands Development Agency (emda). It aims to stimulate interest in STEM subjects and encourage children to become the inventors, scientists and engineers of the future.

Hugh James, Director of Creative Partnerships, Nottingham - the organisation behind the ‘Creative Science’ scheme, said: “Working in new and innovative ways with schools has been at the heart of our programmes and we are excited by this opportunity to work with emda to extend our activities into the critically important STEM subjects.”