3M will pay for entries to be submitted for a British Science Association CREST Discovery Award. See our Terms and Conditions. Please indicate your consent on the Entry Form.
Closing date for entries: 24 March 2022
Virtual judging: 24, 25 and 26 May 2022 at 3M, Charnwood Campus, Loughborough. Please indicate your preferred date/time on the entry form.
Entries will be screened to ensure they meet the entry criteria. Students will be asked to deliver a presentation of up to 10 minutes length to demonstrate their marble run and talk through their background research, material selection, design experimentation and construction processes. The judges will ask questions about the marble run and their STEM learning. All members of a team should play a part in the presentation.
£750 of science or engineering equipment for school use plus a £50 gift voucher for the winning individual or team member. All finalists and their schools will receive a framed certificate.
All entrants will receive a certificate of entry and personalised feedback from the judges.
Up to 35 marks for the marble run’s performance, based on the time taken for the marble to roll from the top to the bottom of the run
Up to 30 marks for evidence of STEM learning including:
Marble runs must incorporate a minimum of three different methods of slowing the marble’s descent. Additional methods will score more marks
Up to 20 marks for quality of the presentation
Up to 15 marks for the marble run’s style, aesthetics 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
Please make sure you download these important documents for the Slo-Mo Marble 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
Chris Bishop is a Principal Project Engineer at Kindeva Drug Delivery. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1998 with a Master's degree in Engineering and managed engineering projects for 3M before moving to Kindeva. A Chartered Engineer and STEM Ambassador, Chris enjoys delivering maths and engineering-based activities in primary schools, and lives in Loughborough with his wife and two young children.
Fay Rochester is a Manufacturing Technology engineer for 3M's Abrasives division and is based at its Atherstone site in Warwickshire. She graduated from Loughborough University with a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 and as part of her course spent a year at 3M as an industrial placement student. Fay became a STEM Ambassador while she was studying for her degree, and is passionate about promoting diversity in science and engineering careers.