Pupils at Dean Close Pre-Preparatory School recently enjoyed a ‘Design and Technology Wow Day’ whilst also raising money for the local charity, ‘IT Schools Africa’.
Throughout the day, children trialled new forms of technology and designed and built the robots of the future.
The day’s activities included programming and putting logic to the test using iPads, BeeBots and computers. Year Two visited the Prep School where Year Six pupils demonstrated their skills and taught them a new program. The youngest members of the Pre-Prep Community got involved by enjoying some time drawing on the iPads and playing games.
The day also included some special visitors who arrived with amazing new technology for the children to test and apply their skills, such as VR goggles and programmable robots called ‘Spheros’. Pupils then had the opportunity to master a flight simulator, and watch a demonstration on the games field of how to fly drones.
When the children were not busy testing their logic skills with technology, they were occupied with their class challenge – to design and build a large robot. The older children had an extra challenge – to include a ‘moveable part’! They showed fantastic cooperation and teamwork skills and made amazing robots which were then displayed on the stage and judged at the end of the day.
James Cowling, deputy head, said: “It was a jam-packed, action filled day where pupils had the opportunity to try new technologies. There was so much to do and everyone, staff and pupils, had great fun whilst raising money for the charity IT Schools Africa. A huge thank you must go to all those organisations who took time out of their busy work to share their Spheros, flight simulators and virtual reality headsets.”