On Tuesday 26th October, RAF Marham hosted the final Norfolk and Suffolk Wing Air Cadet Challenge of 2022 within their new Science Technology Engineering Maths (STEM) Centre. This past year has seen cadets from 11 different Air Cadet Squadrons from within Norfolk and Suffolk Wing compete against each other in three major STEM challenge days. Over the course of the three separate events there has been a total of four activities.
The first was an MTa Construction Challenge where cadets, using giant Meccano like kits, help rescue a ‘Downed Pilot’. The second challenge involved the cadets carrying out a mission planning exercise where they had to calculate an aircraft route, looking at time, distance, speed and fuel usage.
The third element involved cadets being instructed in the four main ‘Principles of Flight’ and then building balsa wood gliders in order to compete in a fly off. However, this latter challenge was then swapped out for the second and third challenge days with the cadets being given a basic coding/programming course and challenged to build ‘dancing robots’ from Lego Spike Prime Robotic Kits.
At each of the days the cadets were treated to a tour of the base along with a flight in the F-35 STEM Virtual Flight Simulator. This initiative has been an unqualified success and it is hoped that STEM days being introduced into Marham’s new centre will inspire future generations of children into technologically advanced roles, whether that be in the military or within industry.
