Regrettably, due to school closures enforced by the January lockdown in England, we have taken the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 3M Young Innovators Challenge competition.
Many of the Challenges require close collaboration and teamworking which would no longer be possible, and we do not wish to add to the already significant workload that teachers and parents face in moving again to remote learning.
The competition is always a highlight of our year and we are very disappointed that we cannot continue as planned. We look forward to engaging with you again in 2022.
3M will pay for entries for the Fragile Freight Challenge to be submitted for a British Science Association CREST Bronze Award. See our Terms and Conditions. Please indicate your consent on the Entry Form.
Closing date for entries: 25 March 2021
Virtual judging: 26 May 2021 by Microsoft Teams meeting. Please indicate your preferred judging time on the entry form.
Entries will be screened to ensure they meet the entry criteria. Students, supported by their teacher, should make a video diary of their project work, from the initial gathering of ideas and concept development, through to design modification, testing and problem solving. The video should be a maximum of five minutes duration and should be submitted in advance of the judging session. Students will be asked to deliver a presentation of up to 10 minutes length via a Microsoft Teams meeting to demonstrate their model/system and talk through their background research, material selection, design experimentation and construction processes. Prototypes showing the evolution of the design should also be included. The judges will ask questions about the model/system and their work. All members of a team should play a part in the presentation.
Please check that the model only uses materials from the Materials List and that the position of the base of the loading container(s) and horizontal distance covered are correct. Please use a digital stopwatch to record the two-minute time periods and digital scales to record the weight of the cherry tomatoes transported. Two attempts should be made and these should be recorded as part of the video diary. The greatest weight of tomatoes carried will be used for the allocation of marks.
Up to 30 marks for the total weight of cherry tomatoes transported
Up to 25 marks for idea generation
Up to 20 marks for design development
Up to 10 marks for an understanding of Sustainable Development
Up to 15 marks for quality of the presentation and video
Total marks available = 100
The students’ year group will be taken into account when awarding marks.
Judges will select 4-6 finalists who will be invited to attend the virtual 3M Young Innovators Challenge presentation event on Thursday 10 June 2021.
Links to Science Curriculum (England) | Links to Design and Technology Curriculum (England) |
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Key stage 3 Scientific attitudes; pupils should be taught to: Experimental skills and investigations; pupils should be taught to: Analysis and evaluation; through the content, pupils should be taught to: Forces
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Key stage 3 When designing and making the model, pupils should be taught to: Design: Make: Evaluate: Technical knowledge: |
Please download these important documents for the Fragile Freight Challenge. Please save the entry form to your device and send as a file attachment to younginnovators@mmm.com.
If you have any questions, please Get in Touch.
Please see our Terms and Conditions.
Judges
John Fisher is Technical Director at Lacerta Technology Ltd, a scientific instrument manufacturer supplying the materials testing industry. He has a Masters degree in Physics and Electronics and has worked in several research and industry sectors including upper atmospheric physics and oil well borehole logging. John is a STEM Ambassador and recently helped a local school to the finals of the LEGO® Robotic Challenge.
Dr Martin Arrowsmith is a medical device consultant with over forty years' experience in healthcare science. Following completion of his research into novel drug delivery systems at Nottingham University, Martin investigated the physical chemistry of new drugs before joining 3M in pharmaceutical development. He later transitioned to support 3M's UK and European wound care and infection control business. During his 33 years with the company, Martin mentored many new recruits and is looking forward to judging the Fragile Freight Challenge.