Designing Mars Rovers in Year 5

Story shared by Mark Pollard
on April 28, 2021

Computing, DT, Science, The Penpol Times, Year 5

Last term, as part of our Space topic, the children were inspired by the landing of Perseverance on Mars and so created their own versions of a Mars rover, complete with a motor so that it could move forward and, most impressively a lever system to enable it to pick up ‘space rock’ to study. The children had a great time making and designing their own rover and, who knows, maybe this activity will have inspired our next rover designers of the future.

After they’d made their rovers, the children used the iPads and iMovie to virtually transport their creations to the surface of Mars with some Green Screen magic.

You can enjoy some of these videos below:

00:00

"I enjoyed making the Mars Rover. My favourite part was designing and decorating the rover, but we did have some trouble with our electrics"

Emily

Class 11

00:00

Also in the news:

Barbara Hepworth Inspiration

The reception classes were thrilled to be joined by Steph and Helen, two local artists from the Tate Gallery in St.Ives. We learnt about who Barbara Hepworth was, what she created and the types of materials

Amanda Aspden 23rd March 2023

Sweet Success: Year 2 Make Honey Flapjacks

This week, our Year 2 classrooms were buzzing with excitement as pupils traded pencils for mixing bowls to create their very own honey flapjacks. The sweet smell of honey and oats filled the air as the

Michael Pearson 16th January 2025

Surf’s up with Y5/6 Surf Club

Surf’s up – During June and July, the Y5/6 went surfing with Hayle based surf school Shore Surf to learn to surf or improve surfing skills and also learn about key water safety messages and what

Jono Peck 25th May 2021

Kids Invent Stuff visit Penpol School

Last week Penpol had a very exciting visit from Ruth and Shawn – otherwise known as Kids Invent Stuff – to talk about all things engineering, inventing and creating! The day started with the whole school

Jacob Woolcock 14th June 2021

Surf’s Up

The reception class spent a glorious summers day on the Bluff beach in Hayle. Ben taught us all about beach safety in the Surf Life Saving Club. We learnt where to swim and surf safely, what

Amanda Aspden 20th July 2022

THE PENPOL TIMES