What is OptiMINDS?

OptiMINDS is a creative problem-solving challenge. As a team, we decided to enter the Science Engineering category. We were given the open-ended challenge of creating a tower for Planet Flex. For this, we needed to create a tower that was 50cm to 1m in height. We need to create a device so that the tower could either lift or drop (up to 30 cm) while holding (up to) 3 juice boxes. We were also told to come up with a story to explain why our tower on Planet Flex was able to either lift or drop. After all of that, we then had to create a creative way to perform and present our tower’s ability to lift or drop. All of this needs to be created from a list of allowable materials and within a specific budget. Our 6 weeks went very quickly in order to complete this challenge!

There was also a spontaneous challenge where, as a team, we had to tackle a task without any preparation and complete it in only 10 minutes. We only had 3 minutes to write down ideas and then 7 minutes to discuss them as a team while being recorded; the real challenge was presenting at the same time as we were discussing.

What did we achieve and how did we make our tower?

We made our tower out of hundreds of paddle pop sticks and PVA glue. We made triangles out of the sticks and stuck them together, so they were slightly turned as the tower grew higher to increase the strength and make it look cool. Next, we filled a bucket with concrete and stuck a pole into it, so the tower had a guideline when it rose. After that, we put on our metre-tall tower and rigged up a pulley system to lift the tower. Finally, we attached the 3 juice box weights using tights and used some sandbags as counterweights to lift the tower – as they dropped, the tower rose!

How did you feel about the experience?

OptiMINDS really taught me how to work better in a team. I think every team member grew during both the long-term and spontaneous challenges. We had to work through all the competing ideas and evaluate the pros and cons of each idea before deciding on our final design. The brainstorming and juggling of ideas were a huge learning experience. We all had to adopt a growth mindset; working together, negotiating, and making decisions under pressure taught me a lot.

By Ewan McRae (Year 5 Student)