STEPS is here to support you in planning your primary school Engineers Week activity. This page contains all the information that you need to get involved with STEPS Engineers Week 2022.
There are four steps to getting involved in STEPS Engineers Week.
This webinar informs organisers about how to get involved in STEPS Engineers Week 2022. The session will be 1 hour long with ample time for Q&A at the end, should you have any questions. Register for the webinar here.
Further webinars will be taking place in January 2022, with registrations opening in Winter 2021. Sign up to the STEPS mailing list to hear when training booking goes live.
STEPS Engineers Week activities should show off what engineering is to young people. This is the only requirement from STEPS – otherwise the sky is the limit!
Do you need any activity idea? STEPS has collated a list of activities suitable for primary school audiences that you might like to carry out. These can be found below.
If you have another engineering activity in mind, that’s great! Please do feel free to go ahead with your own activity.
You can carry out the same activity each year, you are under no obligation from STEPS to come up with something new each year.
Here is a selection of suggested activities and resources that the STEPS team have gathered for primary school level.
The Engineers Ireland STEPS team has created the Wind Energy Challenge Pack, designed for students to explore sustainability in engineering. Primary school students take on the Pinwheel Challenge.
The pack contains an engineering discussion guide and detailed activity instructions. Available free to download, the activities can be carried out with materials found in the classroom or home.
Download the STEPS Primary School Challenge
The STEPS team has selected a list of films and documentaries that will get students excited about engineering and STEM. Used as part of a lesson, movies can spark discussion and reinforce topics.
Teacher preparation before the screening:
On the day of the screening:
The STEPS team has selected a list of books about engineering and STEM.
Download the STEM Stories - Reading list
Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, organising a digital engineer visit is an excellent option for showcasing real-world engineering in the classroom.
Tips for finding an engineer:
Considerations for a digital visit:
NOTE: STEPS does not organise digital visits. It is up to teachers to source an engineer to speak to their class.
This resource consist of PowerPoint quizzes exploring engineering, with a short introductory film, for three different age groups.
Do you have what it takes to get top marks in the STEPS Engineers Quiz? As Creatives has created family-friendly quizzes to explore engineering at home and challenge each other to see who the ultimate engineer is! Watch the intro short film to learn more about engineering all around you. Quiz 1: Suitable for age 8-12 Quiz 2: Suitable for age 13-14 Quiz 3: Suitable for age 15-17
These resources will be available in January 2022.
The Engineers Ireland STEPS team have paired up with Jasmine Florentine, author & project illustrator of Hex Allen and the Clanksmiths, to share Hex Allen's Guide to Defeating Monsters! Join Hex and her friends as they use science and engineering to get out of a bunch of scrapes, and make some fantastic gadgets in this special and exciting activity. Download now.
Jasmine has created a video demonstration especially for STEPS Engineers Week! Watch now on the Engineers Ireland YouTube Channel.
The documentary focuses on the critical value of our most precious natural resource and explores the ongoing threats to its future. It seeks to educate and inform; with a range of contributions from engineers, scientists and consumers. It explores the development and current state of Ireland’s public water network, with a unique perspective on the ongoing national project to upgrade the country’s drinking water supply and wastewater treatment, and the role we all have to play in conservation.
Website YouTube playlist
Irish Water has additional resources available that are relevant to the documentary and Water education available on www.water.ie/education, including The Story of Water Activity Booklet, videos, quizzes and worksheets and more. Links to An Taisce and Scoilnet resources are also available.
Irish Waters’ educational resources are available on Scoilnet, to help students learn all about water in a fun and engaging way with videos, fun activities, and support material. Check out the resources at Scoilnet resources.
DreamSpace HomeSpace is an initiative by Microsoft Ireland to help educators, parents and children participate remotely in some of Microsoft Ireland's favourite DreamSpace activities.
With Microsoft Ireland's Full STEAM Ahead episodes, you will hear from inspiring guest speakers, learn lots about science, technology, engineering, art and maths and will also have lots of fun taking on fun maker challenges.
These challenges will require you think really creatively, problem solve and generate solutions by using materials that you find around your home. We can't wait to see what you create.
Get started by visiting RTÉ Learn, and access seven fantastic Full STEAM Ahead lessons. Access Full STEAM Ahead lessons now.
How would you build a new railway to join the residents of the town to a city?
Your task is to choose the best route through all the obstacles, thinking about how your choice will affect the company, environment and community.
Play the new online game here!
Twinkl has teamed up with Engineers Ireland to celebrate STEPS Engineers Week. Find a range of STEM activities to bring active learning to the classroom or at home this year.
Twinkl have a great range of activities including individual activities children can do remotely or in the classroom.
Access resources now.
Dream, Invent, Create is publication to introduce engineering to kids in primary schools. It will help them make a connection between the everyday world and engineering — and excite them about the possibilities. You can purchase digital editions to share with students remotely, either purchasing a single licence or in batches or 10, 20 or 30. Shop now.
Available to access now for free is A Guide for Teachers: Dream, Invent, Create a Career in Engineering
Get kids excited about a career in engineering. Fun lessons, guidance and insights about engineering learning and careers, and the support educators need to make it all work for primary school students. Although it does reference , there are lots of discussion guides and worksheets that work as a standalone resource. Download the Teacher Guide and Student Workbook now.
The Engineering in our Lives short animated video shows you how engineering is all around us! Watch this short video, and complete the accompanying workbook so see how engineering is our lives.
The video premiers on the Engineers Ireland YouTube channel.
Download the Engineering in our Lives workbook now.
Access this resource: Human Life, Properties and Characteristics of Materials
Explore and investigate how people move; Understand how materials may be used in construction; Explore the effect of friction on movement through experimenting with toys and objects on various surfaces.
Click the link below for more information.
https://www.sfi.ie/engagement/discover-primary-science-and-maths/engineers-week/
Meet the Small Robots from the Small Robot Company! They make farming more sustainable and kinder to the environment.
Hello! And welcome to your Engineering Challenge Passport. We are about to embark on a Round-the-world engineering adventure like no other.
On this trip you will face many challenges. For each one you will need to use your inner-engineer to look at the problem facing you and come up with a way to solve it.
Download now.
Registrations will go live in the coming months.
Register Your Activity for these five key benefits, only available to STEPS Engineers Week 2022 Registered Activity Organisers:
1. Receive access to the exclusive STEPS Engineers Week Digital Goodie Bag to share with your students
2. Receive access an exclusive STEPS Engineers Week 2022 Digital Promotional Pack to help promote your activities.
3. Potential to be included in regional press releases and photographer
4. Increase the pool of skilled workers in Ireland by combining efforts with industry nationwide, raising the profile of engineering opportunities available among young people.
5. Help STEPS to carry out an impact analysis that we can use to help influence policy, decision making and apply for funding.
Now is the time to shout about your STEPS Engineers Week Activity and communicate your success! Share an update of the activity with your network.
Write a blog post for your website, create a video, update social media, circulate an internal email - all to showcase your involvement in STEPS Engineers Week.
Make sure to tag us and use our special hashtag #STEPSEngineersWeek and tag us:
Registered activity organisers will receive a Digital Promotional Pack to help promote your activities. The pack includes:
As an activity organiser it is critical for you and your students to evaluate your STEPS Engineers Week experiences, so we can analyse the positive impact of all your hard work.
You can do this via our online evaluation or via a printable evaluation sheet. STEPS will email this to all registered activity organisers in the lead up to STEPS Engineers Week 2022.