SATRO'S ON THE MOVE!

As the sun goes down on the beautifully located SATRO office in Send - welcome to the new dynamic, technology rich Research Park office!

As of Monday 29^th July 2013 SATRO’s NEW ADDRESS and contact details are:

Unit 23 |Surrey Technology Centre |40 Occam Road |Surrey Research Park|Guildford |GU2 7YG

Tel:  01483 688 070      
Fax: 01483 573 704



g3 £££ RAISING PADDLERS!

g3baxi participated in the 13th Annual Rotary Dragon Boat Challenge at Canbury Gardens, Kingston on Sunday 21st July, and very kindly donated £400 of their sponsorship money to SATRO. John Evans, Risk and Safety Manager at G3bxp, penned this thank you note to all who took part in the fundraising...

"Thanks to everyone for a marvellous day out yesterday.  Arun has asked me to pen a few words on his behalf, so I will start by thanking him for suggesting the idea and putting so much effort and encouragement to us all to bring the team together.   Thanks to all of you for turning up for the training.

Additional thanks are of course due to g3 associates and family, who bolstered the team so that it could achieve full strength on the day.  Without you we would have – not been a full crew! The non-paddling family members had a really important role in providing gazebo security, but more so in making the paddling picnic a very convivial place.  It would have been nice to just occupy the gazebo and not to race at all.

To the water then.  On the day, we were one of the 5 most consistently fast teams, our efforts beating the London Welsh rugby club team on our 3^rd outing.  As you know, 0.05 seconds separated us from a  place in the final, but though it is nice to try one’s hardest, it is not about that – the main result is that currently, with Gift Aid, we have raised nearly £800 for SATRO and RNLI, which is also an impressive result!  Well done everyone and please thank your family and friends – yes all of them, until we find out who the Anonymous donors are!"

With Best Wishes,

John Evans 


g3baxi partnership limited team



 

SCORCHING SUCCESS FOR SCIENCE

SATRO Volunteer Graham Manly
demonstrating the Egg Drop Challenge
at Leatherhead Trinity School

The heat is on to raise the profile of STEM subjects and the last two weeks of the Summer Term has seen a succession of exciting SATRO science events taking place across the county:  science days at the Connaught Junior School in Bagshot and Leatherhead Trinity School; a water rockets day at Eastwick Infant/Junior School; a dedicated space day at Broadwater School in Godalming attended by Dr Helen Sharman, amongst other luminaries; Mega-Structures challenges at The Greville Primary School, Ashtead, Therfield School in Leatherhead and Glyn School in Epsom.  A total of 1445 students have participated in a SATRO STEM-based activity during July - a resounding success for bringing science to life for young people.

SATRO has been fortunate in receiving sponsorship for some of the above events.  We acknowledge the generous support from the following:

• ExxonMobil, Leatherhead
• Surrey County Councillors:  Mrs Clare Curran, Mr Tim Hall and Mr Chris Townsend

Some children's comments on how they felt about STEM after the activities:

"Great and happy and makes me want to learn more about science!"

"Before today, I thought engineering was all really hard work and a bit boring, but, today, honestly, has completely changed my mind.  THANK YOU SATRO team. J"

RACING TO SUCCESS

A small group of pupils at Green Oak Primary School in Godalming had a unique experience last week when they tackled the Jaguar Cars ‘Maths in Motion’ challenge.  Using software to calibrate a virtual racing car, the children used their mathematical skills to work out calculations for optimum performance of their car.  The children worked in small groups pooling their knowledge of multiplication, division, measuring and percentages.  The session also provided an opportunity for development and practical application of ICT skills.  The workshop culminated in a test race followed by an exciting Finale to determine the winner.  The children were thrilled to try something new and one pupil commented at the end that he felt “more mathematical”.

This event took place with the kind support of Councillor Peter Martin and we extend our thanks to him for providing this unique opportunity to the school.

OILING THE WHEELS FOR FUTURE CAREERS

Students at the City of London Freemen’s School in Ashtead were set three different challenges to complete over one day.  Aiming to encourage young people to consider STEM careers in the future, SATRO provided a maths activity, a problem-solving challenge to build a model of the London Eye and a bridge-building exercise for 92 Year 9 students, all designed to test their range of knowledge. 

Each activity lasted about 2 hours and gave the students an opportunity to practice and develop skills in communication, team-working and problem-solving.  All the teams were kept engaged on the various tasks and commented that they had benefitted from the experience:

“I have learnt which skills to apply to different problems and to apply technique in different ways”.

BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP

Two Mega-Structures events offered opportunities to KS3 students at George Abbot School and King’s College in Guildford the opportunity to develop skills in communication, planning, design and creativity.  Teamwork was the key element in tackling the task of building a bridge to span a 1.5metre gap.  An initial presentation set the scene about forces in structures before the teams began to manufacture paper sticks for the construction process.  Working to their individual designs, the teams built a range of innovative bridges which were tested for load bearing.  The students were pleased with the outcome and teachers commented on the excellent skills development opportunities provided by the challenge.

When asked what was the best bit about the day, a student responded, "Everything! Especially putting everything together. It was an amazing day I had lots of fun! Thank you very much."

And a teacher commented, "Year 8 work on an aspect of structures and architecture so this complemented the unit very well. Curriculum skills and knowledge but also teamwork."

We are grateful for sponsorship from Surrey County Councillors: , Mr Keith Taylor, who sponsored the George Abbot event,  and Mrs Fiona White, who sponsored King’s College.

A wonderful ‘alternative’ to lessons!

170+ Year 9 students (aged 13-14) at The Warwick school in Redhill took part in an inspiring Alternative Energy Day on Wednesday July 10^th. The event, which has been jointly organised by Satro and The Warwick for over 10 years, enabled teams of students to get a real in depth knowledge and understanding of alternative energy. The Construction Teams spent the morning building huge, working models of water wheels, wind turbines, solar cookers, heat-exchangers and Silvonius motors from a range of materials (including cutting household dustbins in half!). Meanwhile the Modelling Teams were construction small working models of solar powered boats and wind turbines. Last, but by no means least, the Media Teams were interviewing  and photographing participants, and carrying out telephone interviews with experts on alternative energy. These were put into fantastic newsletters all about alternative energy.

Of course the highlight of the day was testing the constructions – particularly the use of a rather large paddling pool & hose to test the water wheels. Good job it was a hot day and clothes dried quickly!

An amazing 15 scientists and engineers helped out as mentors for the day, from companies such as Atkins Global, 2H Offshore, SE and Sutton Water, and Vestas. The event wouldn’t have been possible without them.

As one of the young participants said ‘the best day in school ever, ever!!’

Raising the bar on STEM

As part of Rodborough School's recent 'Eco Week' their Year 8 students were challenged to solve a sustainable energy problem.  Each team was given a pack of resources with the brief to design and build a wind-powered crane.  The students had just 90 minutes to brainstorm their ideas and complete a working model.  The workshop provided good opportunities for team-working and creative thinking, as well as stimulating an interest in STEM subjects.  The teachers commented that it was an excellent activity; the students felt that they had learnt new skills and enjoyed working in a team.