Cahir Boys National School represented at the ‘Xperience Engineering’ National Final
On Thursday 18th June Cahir Boys National School were represented at the ‘Xperience Engineering’ National Final in The Helix, DCU, Dublin.
The ‘Xperience Engineering’ competition is organised by Engineers Ireland and its aim is to promote engineering in primary schools. The theme of this year’s project was ‘Engineers Save Lives’. The boys in 6th class chose to look at Lifebuoys for their project as they felt that in a town like Cahir Lifebuoys can help save lives.
The project began by researching Personal Flotation Devices and in particular Lifebuoys. A number of classroom experiments were then carried out to examine floating and sinking and to explain why certain materials float while others don’t. The boys then completed a site visit to The Mall in Cahir where they met Brendan O’Dwyer, the South Tipperary Water Safety Officer. Brendan spoke to the boys about the location of the lifebuoys in Cahir and the materials they are made from. He also talked to them about the correct way to throw a lifebuoy and the importance of looking after the lifebuoys in our community.
The project also involved a classroom visit by Mr. John Sheehan from the Cahir River Rescue Unit. John is also a member of the Cahir Dive Club. He showed the boys the equipment used by the River Rescue Unit and by the Divers.
We would like to thank both Brendan O’Dwyer and John Sheehan for their help during this project.
A large focus of the project is on the engineering skills of the children. The boys took part in the ‘K’Nex Challenge’ where they had to design a lifebuoy and use K’Nex to make their design. The boys completed a second engineering project to design, make and present a lifebuoy in class using everyday materials. The standard of the lifebuoys they produced was very high and each lifebuoy was tested to ensure it would float!
As part of the project the boys also produced a Water Safety DVD entitled ‘Lifebuoys in Cahir’ for the school. This DVD focuses on the location of the lifebuoys in Cahir town and has water safety tips which are particularly important for this time of year. The DVD also stresses the importance of looking after the lifebuoys.
All the above aspects of the project were recorded and photographed and entered into the competition. The boy’s hard work paid off when they were announced as one of the 20 finalists in the 5th/6th class category. Four boys were chosen to represent the class at the National Final; John Casey and Evan Purtill presented and explained the project to the judges and Sean Sweeney and Stephen O’Donoghue took part in The K’Nex Challenge, to build a robot.
On the day of the Final the boys did an excellent job and it was a great experience to be part of the final. Within the school the project has helped raise the awareness of the children as to the location, function and importance of the lifebuoys in the community.
On Thursday 18th June Cahir Boys National School were represented at the ‘Xperience Engineering’ National Final in The Helix, DCU, Dublin.
The ‘Xperience Engineering’ competition is organised by Engineers Ireland and its aim is to promote engineering in primary schools. The theme of this year’s project was ‘Engineers Save Lives’. The boys in 6th class chose to look at Lifebuoys for their project as they felt that in a town like Cahir Lifebuoys can help save lives.
The project began by researching Personal Flotation Devices and in particular Lifebuoys. A number of classroom experiments were then carried out to examine floating and sinking and to explain why certain materials float while others don’t. The boys then completed a site visit to The Mall in Cahir where they met Brendan O’Dwyer, the South Tipperary Water Safety Officer. Brendan spoke to the boys about the location of the lifebuoys in Cahir and the materials they are made from. He also talked to them about the correct way to throw a lifebuoy and the importance of looking after the lifebuoys in our community.
The project also involved a classroom visit by Mr. John Sheehan from the Cahir River Rescue Unit. John is also a member of the Cahir Dive Club. He showed the boys the equipment used by the River Rescue Unit and by the Divers.
We would like to thank both Brendan O’Dwyer and John Sheehan for their help during this project.
A large focus of the project is on the engineering skills of the children. The boys took part in the ‘K’Nex Challenge’ where they had to design a lifebuoy and use K’Nex to make their design. The boys completed a second engineering project to design, make and present a lifebuoy in class using everyday materials. The standard of the lifebuoys they produced was very high and each lifebuoy was tested to ensure it would float!
As part of the project the boys also produced a Water Safety DVD entitled ‘Lifebuoys in Cahir’ for the school. This DVD focuses on the location of the lifebuoys in Cahir town and has water safety tips which are particularly important for this time of year. The DVD also stresses the importance of looking after the lifebuoys.
All the above aspects of the project were recorded and photographed and entered into the competition. The boy’s hard work paid off when they were announced as one of the 20 finalists in the 5th/6th class category. Four boys were chosen to represent the class at the National Final; John Casey and Evan Purtill presented and explained the project to the judges and Sean Sweeney and Stephen O’Donoghue took part in The K’Nex Challenge, to build a robot.
On the day of the Final the boys did an excellent job and it was a great experience to be part of the final. Within the school the project has helped raise the awareness of the children as to the location, function and importance of the lifebuoys in the community.
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