The children from 5th & 6th have been very busy for Engineers Week.

1.For the past six weeks we have been in the computer room learning CODE.

Computer code is a set of rules or instructions, made up of words and numbers. When they are placed in the correct order these instructions a code tells your computer what you want it to do. Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. We have been learning to “code” to perform a variety of tasks-draw a picture, solve a puzzle, play games. It has been a fantastic opportunity for us and one that we have enjoyed very much. We have all has completed our “One Hour of Code” challenge and have moved on to more challenging and varied activities.

2. Design & Construstion

We had SNOW !!!!.  The snow only lasted one day but we made the most of it. We decided to be Engineers for the day. Our challenge was to Design and Build snow constructions. We decided on snowpeople and one other construction of our choice. Firstly we got into groups to plan and design and decide how to build our structures. Then we went out to the field in our groups to complete our task.

We had great fun designing and building our snowmen and women.

3. Tangrams.

During Maths class we got to use Tangrams. We started off working from coloured pictures and then advanced on to silhouettes. We also worked in two’s to solve Tangrams of 14 pieces.

The tangram consists of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may not overlap. It is reputed to have been invented in China  and then carried over to Europe by trading ships in the early 19th century.

4. Visit to Abbott Ireland Diagnostic Division – Longford

We finished off Engineers Week with a visit to Abbott in Longford.