STEM day: 5 epic science and technology records and how YOU can break one!
Do you know what STEM is? 🤓
It represents Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (S.T.E.M., get it?) – so basically all the key subjects that help us understand and shape the world around us.
Every year on 8 November it’s STEM Day, a perfect time to celebrate with cool experiments, fun challenges, and learning how things work, from building robots to exploring the galaxy! 🌌
And what better way to celebrate than the Guinness World Records way? 😉
Let’s remember some of the coolest STEM-themed world records, many of which were set by kids just like you!
And who knows, maybe you could be next…
Brooke the maths whizz
Brooke Cressey from Kent, UK, was only 8 years old when she broke the record for the highest score achieved on Times Tables Rock Stars in one minute with 210.
And what is Times Tables Rock Stars, or TTRS?
Well, it’s a super fun game where you solve maths questions in the fastest time possible.
Do you like maths? 🧑🏫
Brooke loves it, and she’s obviously really good at it too!
“My family can’t believe how good I am at quick calculations,” she told us. “They’re very proud - they call me the human calculator and a robot!”
Think you’ve got what it takes to challenge Brooke’s record and become the next maths champion?
All you have to do is download the TTRS app and give it a go…
Rafał the comet hunter
Rafał is the youngest person to discover a comet, as he was 12 years and 199 days old when he first identified a new comet…
Although he has found at least 10 more since! ☄️
“I’m always on the look-out for new ones to discover,” he told us.
“When I reported the object, I was 99% sure it was a comet. I waited anxiously for the confirmation of my first discovery. When it was actually confirmed, I was shocked that I did it!”
Pretty incredible, right?
You can read more about his story and even how you can find a comet too here.
Hound the superfast robot
Meet Hound, who holds the world record title of fastest 100 m by a quadrupedal robot in just 19.87 seconds!
How awesome are robots? 🤖
Hound was developed by the geniuses at the KAIST Dynamic Robot Control and Design (DRCD) Laboratory in South Korea…
Designing superfast robots for a living?
Sounds like the absolute dream job. 😂
Gitanjali the scientist and innovator
At the age of 15, a super smart scientist from Denver, Colorado, USA named Gitanjali became the first TIME Magazine Kid of the Year. 🤯
Ever since she was small, Gitanjali has been thinking of ways to use science to help others. 🧪️
At just 10 years old, she created a device called Tethys that detects lead in water, a harmful chemical for humans.💧
Many people worldwide don’t have access to clean water, and Tethys can help save lives by alerting them to unsafe drinking water!
If you were a scientist like her, what would you invent?
Alex the LEGO builder
All aboard the world’s longest LEGO® train!
Built by 14-year-old Alexander Blong from New Zealand, it has broken the record for the most carriages in a toy train, with 101.🚆
Sounds like a fun project, but it sure wasn’t easy – in fact, it took Alex around 50 hours to build all the carriages…
His advice to people who want to break records at a young age, just like him, is:
“Age is no barrier to setting a goal and achieving success."
Now it’s YOUR turn
Celebrate STEM day by attempting to become the speediest plastic brick stacker in the world!
Can you achieve the fastest time to stack 20 LEGO® bricks in a right-angle tower amongst people under 16 years old?
Find out what you’ll need to attempt this record here.
Good luck. 🍀