Join classrooms from around the world for an exciting, hands-on Chain Reaction STEM Challenge designed to spark creativity, collaboration, and design thinking in students aged 9–12. In this live challenge, students will design and build a chain reaction machine using everyday classroom materials, exploring cause and effect, sequencing, and problem-solving through making and testing.
The challenge is a online showcase where schools come together to share the creations that have been designed and built during the session — either through a live demonstration or a short video to be shared later. This is a non-competitive, celebration-style event that puts student thinking at the center, encourages iteration and reflection, and connects learners globally through STEM and design thinking.
Your challenge is to design and build a Chain Reaction Machine using everyday items you can find in your classroom (or school). The goal is not just to make it work, but to think like designers and engineers.Â
You will design, build, test, and refine your machine, all during the live session!
At the end of the challenge, you can join us in the cloud to show us your creation demonstrating it LIVE!
Theresa is an experienced educator with nearly 20 years of experience across primary, secondary and higher education, as well as community education. As Head of Education at Creative Hut, she combines creativity, educational research and hands-on learning to develop STEAM programmes, teacher training and community projects, in the UK and internationally.]
Beginning her career in Youth Work, then trained as a primary school teacher, Theresa has worked across a wide range of educational settings, from classrooms and universities to large-scale community projects. She holds a Bachelor of Education, a Master's degree in Creative Practices in Education, and Qualified Teacher Status in both the UK and Austria.
Passionate about creativity and equality, Theresa believes that education should be accessible and connected to the real world. Whether working with children, families or educators, she aims to build confidence and help people discover that they are capable of far more than they might think.
