Leicestershire / South Nottinghamshire
Mighty Monument Challenge
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What's it about?
This inspiring primary school Challenge is to design and build a lightweight free-standing structure, themed on a monument. Using materials from a given list, the structure should support as much load as possible, up to a maximum of 10kg, held in a container whose base is at a height of 900mm. The Challenge is focused on the concept of ‘strength to weight ratio’ rather than outright weight holding capacity. Therefore, a lightweight structure holding less than 10kg could potentially outperform a heavier structure that supports the maximum load.
The monument may either be themed on an existing world monument or pupils may research and construct a monument to honour a person or event relevant to the school’s locality.
Judges will be looking for evidence of STEM learning into structures and forces, design and material experimentation and creativity in theming.
Eligible school year groups: 3-6
Entries accepted from: Individuals or teams of 2-5 students. Schools may submit a maximum of 3 entries for the Challenge. Teams may be mixed age if desired.
Open to: Leicestershire and South Nottinghamshire Schools, Academies and Private Schools. Home-educated children may also participate. See our Terms and Conditions.
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CREST Discovery Awards
3M will pay for entries for the Mighty Monument Challenge to be submitted for a British Science Association CREST Discovery Award. See our Terms and Conditions. Please indicate your consent on the Entry Form.
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- Download the Mighty Monument Challenge Risk Assessment (DOCX, 87 KB)
- The aims of the Challenge are to (i) design and build a lightweight free-standing structure to support as much load as possible, up to a maximum of 10kg, held in a container whose base is at a height of 900mm (ii) maximise students’ STEM learning about aspects of structures, materials, stability and forces (iii) support place knowledge aspects of the primary geography curriculum
- The Challenge is focused on the concept of ‘strength to weight ratio’ rather than outright weight holding capacity. Therefore, a lightweight structure holding less than 10kg could potentially outperform a heavier structure that supports the maximum load
- The structure can only be built from materials on the Materials List (PDF, 562 KB)
- The monument itself may extend beyond the height of the loading container, if desired. There are no restrictions on the overall dimensions of the monument
- The monument may either be themed on an existing world monument or pupils may research and construct a monument to honour a person or event relevant to the school’s locality
- Students will be invited to an individual judging session at 3M, where they will be asked to present their monument to the judges, and deliver a presentation in a format of their choice (e.g. Powerpoint slides, poster, talk or other creative interpretation) which should be a maximum of 10 minutes duration
- The completed structure will be weighed by the judges using digital weighing scales
- The presentation should cover the initial gathering of ideas and concept development, design modification, testing and problem solving, with an emphasis on STEM learning. The presentation should be submitted in advance of the judging
- For testing purposes, the structure will be loaded with blocks of known weight e.g. 100g, 200g, 500g, 1kg etc. up to a maximum load of 10kg
- More than one block can be added at the same time if desired, to maintain stability
- Students should carefully consider the impact of theming on the structure’s weight
- Testing will stop when either (i) the monument falls over or breaks (ii) the weight is no longer supported at the required height (iii) the full load of 10kg is reached (iv) the individual / team requests that no more weight is added
- Please take appropriate safety precautions when testing prototypes and models in class. Students should keep a safe distance from the testing area
- Entries must be the students’ own work
- Monuments should be brought to the judging session (please ensure they can be transported without breakage) and do not have to be submitted in advance
Closing date for entries: 24 March 2022
Judging: 10, 11 and 12 May 2022 at 3M, Charnwood Campus, Loughborough . Please indicate your preferred date/time on the entry form.
- Judges will check the materials used and the dimensions of the monument and position of the loading container are in line with the rules
- The finished monument will be weighed using digital weighing scales and the weight recorded
- Testing blocks of known weight (e.g. 100g, 200g, 500g, 1kg) will be added to the container in increments up to a maximum load of 10kg. More than one block can be added at the same time, if desired, to maintain stability
- Testing will stop when either:
- the monument breaks or falls over
- the load is no longer supported at a height of 900mm
- the entrant/team requests that no further load is applied
- The maximum load held will be recorded
Up to 40 marks for the structure's performance, based on the ratio of load carrying capacity to the structure’s weight.
Up to 25 marks for evidence of STEM learning including:
- idea generation
- background research
- material selection
- prototyping
- design
- overcoming problems and challenges
Up to 15 marks for quality of the presentation
Up to 20 marks for the monument’s theming, appearance and visual appeal
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 3M Young Innovators Challenge presentation event on Friday 17 June 2022, where the winner will be announced.
Year 5 Forces and magnets
Pupils should be taught to:
- explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object
- identify the effects of air resistance, water resistance and friction, that act between moving surfaces
- recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect
Key stage 2
When designing and making, pupils should be taught to:
Design
- use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose
- generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, prototypes
- select from and use a wider range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks
- select from and use a wider range of materials and components, including construction materials
- investigate and analyse a range of existing products
- evaluate their ideas and products against their own design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work
- apply their understanding of how to strengthen, stiffen and reinforce more complex structures
Key Stage 2
Pupils should extend their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the United Kingdom and Europe, North and South America. This will include the location and characteristics of a range of the world’s most significant human and physical features. They should develop their use of geographical knowledge, understanding and skills to enhance their locational and place knowledge.
Pupils should be taught to:
Place knowledge
- understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country, and a region in North or South America
- use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied
- use fieldwork to observe, measure record and present the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods, including sketch maps, plans and graphs, and digital technologies
Important documents to download
Please make sure you download these important documents for the Mighty Monument 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
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Nayan Mistry
Nayan Mistry is a lead Manufacturing Technology engineer for 3M's Abrasives division and is based at its Atherstone site in Warkwickshire. He completed a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering at Loughborough University, and as part of his course spent a placement year working in R&D within a multinational food and beverage company. Nayan is a keen advocate for STEM, having taken part in many events to encourage young people's interest in these subjects. He also provides 1-to-1 maths tuition to students in his local community.
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Judith Payne
Judith Payne has worked for Leicestershire Education Business Company for over 20 years, working extensively with primary and secondary schools and setting up the Right to Read scheme in Leicestershire before specialising in STEM project work. Judith currently manages all the company’s STEM work with schools and businesses in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Judith is also a qualified teacher, lives in West Leicestershire and has two grown up children.
