The CLAAS Foundation has organised the first ever competition of its own for schoolchildren – challenging the technical skills of the next generation of inventors with the aid of mini-tractors.
Before the start: everyone gets together for a group photo
A total of eight teams from seven schools in Lower Saxony took part in the competition, each of which consisted of between two and four students from the seventh and eighth classes. In the run-up to the competition, every school received class sets containing 20 metal tractor kits, which were assembled during lessons.
Final ‘tractor tune-up’ before the start
‘Our aim is for technology, natural sciences, mathematics and computer science to become firmly established at the schools from an early stage. Some secondary schools in Lower Saxony have already introduced technology as a teaching subject from Class 5. Technology should be fun, and you have the most fun when you’re with others,’ explains Sylvia Looks of the CLAAS Foundation governing board.
In the competition, the students and their electrically driven tractors had to compete in three events. In the slalom course it was speed that counted; on the obstacle course it was a matter of agility, and in the assembly competition of technical dexterity. In this last event, each team had a fixed time to assemble a prescribed set of components with the tools provided, and the quality of their work was evaluated. Finally, the students created a poster with information about their team and their work on the tractor model – which also formed part of the overall assessment.
Stopwatch at the ready: Frank Klüsner times the slalom event
On the obstacle course it’s a question of skill and precision
Students in deep concentration for the assembly competition
A jury of three announced the proud winning teams. First place went Class I of Langen Secondary School.
The winning team: Langen Secondary School I
Second place went to the School at Auetal/Ahlerstedt, represented by the First Ahlerstedt Trekking Club, and the ‘Burning Meteor’ team from Emsland Comprehensive School came in third. As their prize, the winning teams each received admission tickets for a natural science museum, as well as a small contribution to class funds.
The competition took place at CLAAS Weser Ems GmbH in Neerstedt, who in addition to the use of their premises also provided a supporting programme. Besides other activities, this meant that students could ride on real agricultural machines, and so experience life-sized farming technology as well.
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