Topic outline

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  • The WASP STEM packages have been designed so that teachers from different STEM areas can pick and choose sections relevant to their subject area to work on.  All activities in these packages do not need to be completed to get value for them – each activity can be completed as a stand-alone or can be approached, as a team, as a larger project. The packages have potential to be extended into much longer projects to include curriculum points from different STEM subjects.

    There are three student workbooks - Open, Guided and Scaffolded, that go alongside each resource; all have the same suggestions for activities, however, they have been written and edited to provide differentiated learning options to support good teaching practice.  Teachers may pick and choose which versions they give which students, and may wish to edit them further to address their learning needs

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  • The Student Challenge
    Floods can be damaging to property. For people looking to build in areas surrounding waterways it is vital that they understand which areas are most likely to be flooded so to assist them in making decisions about where and how to build.
    Your job is to investigate factors that lead to flooding and design defences against flooding for an area surrounding a river. The end result ‘hazard map’ should show areas where flooding is most likely to happen and give some suggested solutions to reduce the impact of these floods.

  • Possible Activities

    Background Research
    Testing Soils
    The Effect of Vegetation on Flooding
    Permeable Pavement
    Modelling Rivers
    Levees Experiment
    Designing Defences

  • Flooding - Teacher Resource File
  • Flooding - Scaffolded File
  • Flooding - Guided File
  • Flooding - Open File
  • Do you have students completing this STEM challenge from home or another location? Click here to download an interactive pdf version which can be completed just about anywhere.

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  • The Student Challenge

    Landslides can have devastating impacts, they can move and destroy roads, rail and cars, and even topple buildings. Your role is to investigate some causes of landslides and suggest methods to prevent damage from these events.

  • Possible Activities

    Background Research
    Finding the Angle of Repose
    Effect of Water on Slope Stability
    Plant Power
    Animating Undercutting
    Engineering a Solution

  • Landslide Engineering - Teacher Resource File
  • Landslide Engineering - Scaffolded File
  • Landslide Engineering - Guided File
  • Landslide Engineering - Open File
  • Do you have students completing this STEM challenge from home or another location? Click here to download an interactive pdf version which can be completed just about anywhere.

  • Find out how the type of earth material impacts slope stability here.

  • Find out how water impacts slope stability here.

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  • The Student Challenge

    Indonesia is one of Australia’s closest neighbours and a frequent tourist destination for Australians. It is also a country which is impacted by volcanic eruptions, which can be very dangerous. To ensure that locals and tourists are safe it is vital that volcanoes are closely monitored so that people can be evacuated from the area, if necessary. Your role is to decide which techniques you will use to monitor a volcano.

  • Possible Activities

    Background Research
    Designing a Tiltmeter
    Detecting Seismic Waves
    Materials for Monitoring
    Displaying the Temperature
    Monitoring a Volcano – Decision Making

  • Monitoring a Volcano - Teacher Resource File
  • Monitoring a Volcano - Scaffolded File
  • Monitoring a Volcano - Guided File
  • Monitoring a Volcano - Open File
  • Do you have students completing this STEM challenge from home or another location? Click here to download an interactive pdf version which can be completed just about anywhere.

  • Find out more about how volcanoes are monitored - click here.