Youngsters busy working on 3M projects during science week

SCHOOLS and colleges across the area have been spending British Science Week with students working on their project entries for this year’s 3M Young Innovators Challenge.

British Science Week runs from March 9-16 and is a held as a national celebration of the best of British science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

The week is organised each year by the British Science Association and the science-based technology company 3M is a national sponsor. Thousands of events are being held in locations throughout the country, including local libraries, schools, museums and galleries.

Students in the Loughborough Echo circulation area, across Leicestershire and South Nottinghamshire, have been marking the week with a special focus on preparing their projects ready for the closing date of the 3M Young Innovators Challenge later this month.

There are categories in the competition for both primary and secondary school students.

A number of schools and colleges are now running their own internal competition to select their entries to be put forward for the 3M Young Innovators Challenge.

Each team or individual has the chance to win £750 worth of equipment for their school, as well as prizes and certificates for themselves. 3M will also be funding the students’ entries into the British Science Association’s CREST Award scheme to give them the chance to gain a nationally recognised accreditation.

3M Devised the Young Innovators Challenge with the aim of inspiring the next generation of original thinkers and supporting the teaching of the STEM curriculum.

The competition has been run in partnership with the Loughborough Echo every year since 2013 and is also supported by the Loughborough Learning Alliance and the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) College in Loughborough.