Secondary project briefs (ages 11+)

Bronze Awards are typically completed by students aged 11+. They complete a ten-hour project which is a perfect introduction to STEM project work. Over the course of the project, teams of students design their own investigation, record their findings, and reflect on their learnings. This process gives students a taste of what it is like to be a scientist or engineer in the real-world.

Silver Awards are typically completed by students aged 14+ over thirty hours. Project work at Silver level is designed to stretch your students and enrich their STEM studies. Students direct the project, determining the project’s aim and how they will achieve it. They carry out the project, record and analyse their results and reflect on the project and their learnings. All Silver projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform.

Gold Awards are typically completed by students aged 16+ over seventy hours. Students’ projects are self-directed, longer term and immerse them in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study. All Gold projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform. There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.

There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.

Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our free teacher guidance pack. Supporting this guidance are easy-to-use, free-to-download mapping workbooks, which match individual Bronze, Silver and Gold CREST Award projects with each area of the secondary science curricula for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can download and save your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook via the following links:

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Bronze Silver Gold Partner resources

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Teacher guide Personal

Teacher guide Personal assistant Many of us already have virtual personal assistants in our homes. Some virtual assistants are able to interpret human speech and respond via synthesised voices. Users can ask their assistants questions, control home automation devices and media playback via voice, and manage other basic tasks such as email, to-do lists, and calendars with verbal commands. More and more new developments and bespoke products are emerging to meet specific needs, including personal assistants for older people. Current products can perform tasks or services like health monitoring, wearable biometric tracking (such as fitbits), slip, trip and fall detection, and provide virtual companionship. Moreover, companies are continuously working on new developments to meet the needs of older people. In this project, students will design their own personal assistant for an older person. They will need to research what the needs of older people are, and come up with innovative solutions to meet those needs. Prompts • What routine challenges do elderly people face? Find out what kinds of task(s) might present older people with difficulties. • What tasks might digital devices be well suited to help with? What tasks need a human touch? • How would you manage concerns about privacy or dignity? • How will you control your assistant? Remember, it needs to be easy to use. • Try experimenting with using existing virtual assistants and connecting them to devices to perform tasks in the home. 10

Student brief Personal assistant Many of us already have virtual personal assistants in our homes. Some virtual assistants are able to interpret human speech and respond to questions, control other electronic and home automation devices, and manage some basic tasks. More and more new developments and bespoke products are emerging to meet specific needs, including health monitoring, wearable biometric tracking (like fitbits), slip, trip and fall detection, and virtual companionship. Imagine you are a carer that visits elderly people in their homes. You know that, for some of them, you are the only help they have, and that for a large part of the day they are alone in the house. Design your own personal assistant specifically for the needs of older people. Getting started Start by researching what the needs of older people are. You could interview some older people that you know, or contact an organisation that works with older people in your area. Think about how a virtual assistant and smart devices might be able to meet those needs. Useful resources • A virtual assistant helping older people stay active https://ec.europa.eu/digital-singlemarket/en/news/alfred-virtual-assistanthelping-older-people-stay-active • Virtal agents as daily assistants https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978- 3-642-40415-3_7 • Connecting roomba to Google assistant https://hackernoon.com/how-i-set-up-roomcleaning-automation-with-google-home-homeassistant-and-xiaomi-vacuum-cleaner- 9149e0267e6d • Compatible commands for a wifi enabled robot and a Google Assistant enabled device https://homesupport.irobot.com/app/answers/ detail/a_id/1509/~/compatible-commands-fora-wi-fi-connected-robot-and-a-googleassistant-enabled • Building chatbot with and without coding skills https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/buildi ng-chatbot-with-and-without-coding-skillsbc181d3bb025 • Chatterbot https://chatterbot.readthedocs.io/en/stable/ Health and safety To avoid any accidents, make sure you stick to the following health and safety guidelines before getting started: • Find out if any of the materials, equipment or methods are hazardous using http://science.cleapss.org.uk/Resources/S tudent-Safety-Sheets/ to assess the risks (think about what could go wrong and how serious it might be). • Decide what you need to do to reduce any risks (such as wearing personal protective equipment, knowing how to deal with emergencies and so on). • Make sure there is plenty of space to work. • Clear up slip or trip hazards promptly. • Make sure your teacher agrees with your plan and risk assessment. 11