On April 12, we held our biggest Mini MFC Olympics workshop at the STEM Innovation Academy High School. A total of 181 grade six students from 91 schools across Calgary were introduced to the awesome world of microbes and how they can actually be used to create electricity using microbial fuel cells (MFCs).
After learning how MFCs work, the students teamed up in small groups to build 28 MFC units using just regular garden soil. When they weren’t working on the MFCs, they also got to try out other fun STEM activities like robotics, 3D printing, and Virtual Reality.
At the end of the day, each team took their MFC back home to continue the experiment. Over the next couple of weeks, they’ll be working together to get their MFCs to generate more electricity. After about two weeks, the microbes in the soil should be producing enough power to light up a blinking LED! In two months, all the students will be back for a big “Cell”-a-bration where they’ll share what they learned, show off their results, and maybe even win some prizes.
One cool thing about this event is that all these grade six students will be joining the STEM IA Junior High School campuses this coming September. A lot of them don’t know anyone yet, so this was a great way for them to meet new people and make friends before school starts.
Huge thanks to the STEM IA senior management team and volunteers for making this day happen! Shout-out to the principals and teachers from the high school and both junior high campuses (SW and NW) for helping us get everything organized fast. Special thanks to Principal Hayden, the incoming principal of the NW Junior High campus. And of course, we couldn’t have done this without the help of our 6 amazing university student volunteers and 28 high school volunteers from STEM IA.
Finally, big thanks to our sponsors. We were able to raise the money we needed thanks to some generous grants like the A+ For Energy Grant (Inside Education), the Emerald Youth Grant (Alberta Emerald Foundation), the Mobilizing Alberta Climate Action Grant (University of Calgary and Government of Canada), and of course, STEM Innovation Academy.