1. The Ultimate STEM Challenge

2. The Ultimate STEM Challenge
We are asking students aged 11 to 14 from across the UK to take on the Ultimate STEM Challenge and tackle some real-life problems!
What you need to know:
There is a choice of three challenges.
You can work in teams of two and four.
Each team can only enter once each year.
You need to create a video or presentation about your project.
The deadline for entries is 12th of January 2018.

3. The prizes There are some fantastic prizes to be won, including:
a celebratory event at the Science Museum, London
£500 for your school
Science Museum goodies.

4. My Sustainable Future Using STEM to reduce our environmental impact
Science and technology are a gateway to innovation.
They brought us medicine, electricity, clean running water, the Internet, transport and entertainment.
But with innovation comes production, which can put a strain on natural resources and the environment.
Thankfully, the same STEM knowledge, skills and creativity that has helped to create our modern world can also help us minimise our impact on the natural environment, and create a more sustainable future.

5. My Sustainable Future What does ‘sustainable’ mean?
Which natural resources do we use to create the world around us?
How do we impact the natural environment?
What will happen if we don’t take urgent steps to minimise our impact on the natural environment?
What can we do to create a more sustainable future?

6. About BP
BP is one of the world's leading international oil and gas companies.
BP provide customers with:
fuel for transportation
energy for heat and light
lubricants to keep engines moving
petrochemical products used to make everyday items.

7. Sustainability
at BP
BP is constantly seeking new ways to make its operations more sustainable, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and product use, working to minimise damage to the environment and finding new ways to reduce the amount of natural resources needed to produce energy.

8. Parched Plants

9. Saving water Water is essential for human life.
Parched Plants
Saving water
Water is essential for human life.
It’s important that it is not wasted:
Almost 97% of the Earth’s water is salt water in the oceans and seas.
Most fresh water is tied up in glaciers, ice caps and groundwater.
Everyone has a responsibility for not wasting water.
The location, production and refining of oil and gas accounts for around 1% of global fresh water withdrawals.
Fresh water is used in drilling, hydraulic fracturing, upstream production, refining, petrochemicals and biofuels operations.
To local communities though, this proportion can be much higher.
So it’s important to look at local conditions, such as water stress and scarcity, to manage the potential impact.

10. Parched Plants
We all need plants in our diet, but growing fruits and vegetables can require a lot of water.
Could there be ways to use less water, while making sure people around the world, including areas affected by drought, have access to fresh fruits, vegetables, salads and herbs?
Grow indoor plants using a sustainable method that conserves water.
Plan and carry out an investigation to:
measure how crop production varies with water use
find the best design that uses the least water to produce a healthy crop. 

11. Parched Plants
Saving water
BP investigates ways to manage water use and reduce the amount of water used in its operations.
In 2016 BP treated and returned more than 66% of used fresh water back to the local environment.
In addition to fresh water withdrawals, BP reports water consumption levels – that is, water used that is not returned to the local water basin.
This provides a more comprehensive picture of BP’s potential impact.
At BP’s Kwinana refinery in Australia, 93% of fresh water demand is instead supplied by treated municipal waste water and non-potable ground water.
In Oman, road construction and dust suppression, reducing fresh water demand in an area of water scarcity.

12. Varying your designs How will you vary indoor growing conditions?
Parched Plants
Varying your designs
How will you vary indoor growing conditions?
How will you measure crop growth and water use?
How will you control for variables that you don’t want to test, such as temperature and light level?
What are potential sources of error, especially in measuring plant growth and water use?
How can you improve the accuracy of measurements, e.g. by measuring water use over several days and finding the daily average.
How can you make your various design ideas different enough so that improvements or patterns are significant enough to be measurable?

13. Handy Hydro

14. Handy Hydro
The power of nature
We depend on energy to power our cars, light our homes and keep us warm.
Non-renewable energy is unsustainable.
Forces found in nature can provide an alternative source of energy we can use long into the future.
Renewable energy sources will play an increasingly important role in a lower-carbon future. They are projected to grow seven times faster than all other energy types combined.
One solution to a sustainable future is to use the forces found in nature to generate renewable energy, such as solar power, wind power and hydropower.

15. Handy Hydro
One force of nature which we can harness is hydropower.
Hydropower doesn’t need to be produced on a huge scale; micro hydro installations offer a way to produce renewable energy from small, fast-flowing streams in mountainous areas.
Create an efficient way of generating electricity from moving water.
Plan and carry out an investigation to:
measure how much electrical energy your system can produce
find the best design for extracting energy from moving water.

16. Handy Hydro
Renewable energy
BP has been producing renewable energy for more than a decade. 
Wind and biofuel are the main types produced.
Just eight BP wind turbines make enough energy to power 10,000 homes.
With a focus on biofuels and wind, BP has the largest operated renewables business among its oil and gas peers.
BP is evaluating other commercially attractive low-carbon and renewable energy opportunities to complement its existing businesses.
BP’s wind farms creates enough electricity to power almost 400,000 homes.

17. Handy Hydro
Varying your designs
How might you investigate one key factor in the design of a water turbine?
What would you change, what would you need to measure, and how would you do this?
How will you control for variables that you don’t want to test?
What are the potential sources of error, especially errors in measuring electrical output?
How could you improve the accuracy of measurements, for example by taking repeat measurements and finding the average?
How can you make your various design ideas different enough so that improvements or patterns are significant enough to be measurable?

18. Brilliant Biogas

19. Greenhouse gas Earth’s atmosphere is made up of many different gases.
Brilliant Biogas
Greenhouse gas
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of many different gases.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, which contributes to climate change.
It can be released through fossil fuel production and intensive livestock farming.
The global warming potential of methane is at least 84 times greater than CO2 over a 20-year period.
Methane emissions can occur along the gas supply chain – that includes flaring and venting, to leaks from equipment in gas production through to the delivery of gas to customers.

20. Brilliant Biogas
We can use methane as a source of energy.
This keeps it out of our atmosphere and can provide a way for families and farms around the world to meet some of their energy needs.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and agriculture and food waste is responsible for a lot of the methane that enters our atmosphere every year.
Biomethane – methane produced by animals or from biomass like food waste - is a useful source of energy.
Build a system that generates and captures biomethane from food waste.
Plan and carry out an investigation to:
measure how to produce the most biomethane
find the best design for extracting biomethane from food waste.

21. Stopping the leak Methane can escape in lots of different ways:
Brilliant Biogas
Stopping the leak
Methane can escape in lots of different ways:
when natural gas is vented
when it leaks from equipment
during transportation and delivery.
BP is working to identify the most effective ways to prevent methane leaks.
Gas leaks are detected by infra-red cameras, monitoring stations and even sniffer dogs.
BP is working with Imperial College London on the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative to identify the most effective ways to reduce GHG emissions, including eliminating methane leaks.
In Oman, BP has built a central processing facility that reduces the need for processing equipment at individual well sites, which can be additional sources of methane emissions in gas production.
In the US, BP captures natural gas that would otherwise be flared or vented when creating new wells.

22. Brilliant Biogas
Varying your designs
How could you vary the contents or conditions in your gas generator designs, and measure the level of biomethane production?
How will you control for variables that you don’t want to test, like the amount of food waste – but tests different types of food waste or best conditions.
Will you build more than one generator in order to test each variation simultaneously?
What are the potential sources of error, especially errors in measuring gas production or detecting whether carbon dioxide production has slowed or stopped?
How could you improve the accuracy of measurements, for example by taking repeat measurements and finding the average?
How can you make your various design ideas different enough so that improvements or patterns are significant enough to be measurable?

23. Judges’ criteria Excellence of method Follow a sound scientific method
Communication skills
Explain your work clearly, confidently and in a way that inspires others
Creativity
Approach your project in an original and innovative way
Passion for STEM
Let your enthusiasm shine through!

24. Complete a winning investigation
Ask a clear scientific question that helps you find the best design.
Manage your variables so you only change what you need to.
Explain how your investigation is Valid, Repeatable and Reliable.
Take plenty of repeat measurements and show us your data.
Identify any outliers – the data you shouldn’t include.
Explain your results and your conclusion.
For more on following a sound scientific method, watch our Investigate videos.
Use or copy an Investigate template to plan and write up your investigation.

25. Create a winning video
Your YouTube video should be no longer than three minutes.
Remember:
Speak clearly, and be succinct – think of your audience.
Don’t just talk – show us what you’ve been up to.
Introduce yourselves, your school and what inspired you to tackle the challenge.
Remember copyright – don’t include anything that you didn’t create yourself.
Practise – do a practice run, checking light and sound.
Keep an eye on the time – plan needs to be said and who is going to say it.

26. Create a winning PowerPoint
Your presentation should be no longer than 20 slides.
Remember: 
Write clearly – check your spelling and grammar.
Include lots of pictures to show us what you’ve been up to.
Introduce yourselves, your school and what inspired you to tackle the challenge.
Remember copyright – don’t include anything that you didn’t create yourself.
Tip: Presentations must be created in PowerPoint and must be no more than 10MB in size.

27. Before you begin… Your team should consider the following questions:
- Who will be responsible for what?
- What do you need from your school? Think tools, appliances, space, etc
- How will you investigate and measure how well your designs work?

28. Final Tips
The combines creativity and scientific investigation skills.
Your designs should be practical and provide concrete information and data.
Limit your investigation to suit the time available. It is better to keep it simple and focused, for example by changing one variable or parameter.
Plan in repeat tests to check the reliability of your results or refine your method.
Your testing method should be reproducible. In other words, another scientist should be able to repeat it to check the results.
Use one of the Investigate templates to help you plan and complete your investigation.

29. Good luck! To find out more about the Ultimate STEM Challenge, visit