Calling all parents and children across the Highlands and Islands.
With the new school term fast approaching, and everyone remaining in lockdown, CGI is unveiling ‘STEM from Home’ – an innovative, creative, entertaining and FREE range of activities for children to learn all about science, technology, engineering and maths.
The global IT and business consulting services company, whose Scottish HQ is in Glasgow, is aiming to help take the heat off parents as they continue to try to make home schooling interesting and entertaining.
Not only that, CGI hope by encouraging young people to engage in guilt-free screen time, they will also motivate them to consider a future career in STEM.
All about ‘STEM from Home’
Through ‘STEM from Home’, CGI has created weekly resource packs aimed at six to 14-year-olds – although everyone can get involved if they want.
These activities help children learn all about coding, robotics, the environment, and sport and healthy living.
Resource Pack No1 helps children learn the basics of coding and design by learning to code their very own game as well as designing their own STEM Superhero.
Resource Pack No2 takes a look at robotics and provides a step by step guide to designing your own robot, which you can then build and control in your own home.
Resource Pack No3 focuses on the environment and the challenges facing our wonderful planet, by getting those taking part to design their own eco-school, create their very own environment magazine and go on a nature hunt.
Resource Pack No4 looks at sport and how to live a healthy lifestyle, by teaching how to code your own skiing game with Scratch, design a healthy lifestyle poster and even become the next Joe Wicks by creating your own home exercise routine.
CGI currently has enough content to keep children engaged for up to 12 weeks – but the intention is to continue to create and develop more exciting and stimulating material for as long as the lockdown is in place.
Plans are also being finalised to keep all the activities available for children and young people to access once the lockdown is eventually lifted.
CGI’s Successful STEM Camps
‘STEM from Home’ is based on CGI’s hugely successful STEM camps, with 25 held in the last year across the UK.
Four of those were run in Scotland in December and February, involving nearly 150 school children – at Cockenzie Primary and Bruntsfield Primary (twice) in Edinburgh, and Abercorn Secondary in Glasgow.
These one-day camps were fun, interactive events teaching students all about STEM-related careers for both primary and secondary aged children.
Now going virtual, there are three resource packs which can be downloaded from the CGI website.
CGI also hold ‘Bring Your Daughter to Work’ Days where CGI workers’ daughters aged eight to 12 are all encouraged to come to the CGI office and learn STEM-related fun activities such as working with robots and making things on a 3D printer.
CGI Business Unit Leader for Scotland Lindsay McGranaghan says:
“Everyone at CGI loves STEM and everything about technology.
“Children are the next generation of tech geniuses and our team in CGI adore passing on our knowledge.
“We want as many of children as possible to get into STEM, and we can’t think of a better way to do it than through STEM from Home.
“I hope parents and children download our free packs and enjoy what they provide.
“We want them to learn something that’s fun, and also the key to all our futures.”
