Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Aims
All too often our inbuilt curiosity and ability to question everything is
dulled as we grow up. But understanding the why and how, and having
the ability to shape questions to help uncover these answers, are key
skills for budding scientists and engineers.
This workshop exposes students to various stimuli to spark questions.
Students will think about how they could answer these through
scientific investigation, and make links to questions engineers and
scientists ask in their jobs.
Key learning
outcomes
By the end of the activity students will:
• Be able to create and identify different types of questions,
including scientific questions, and explore methods of
investigation
• Understand the importance of asking questions to solve
problems, linking this to engineering and science careers
• PowerPoint presentation
Resources
• Print outs of 10 photographs (download the supporting resource)
• Student worksheet (copy for each student)
• Tablet/laptop/computer
• Projector/interactive whiteboard
• Sticky notes and pens
• Blu-tack
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
1
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Before running a workshop
• Read through this overview and familiarise yourself with the content and supporting resources.
• We’ve included a series of 10 photographs that will need to be printed before the workshop. The 5
‘problem’ photos should be posted on the walls around the classroom before the workshop starts.
Are you a Siemens volunteer?
• There are plenty of volunteer resources to support you in preparation for your workshop. Start with the
Volunteer Guide available through the Curiosity Project website.
• Get in touch with the teacher beforehand to discuss resources you need (equipment, print outs, access to
internet, facilities etc.) or questions you may have - they’ll be happy to help.
• Have the student worksheets to hand before the workshop begins and ask the teacher to help hand them
out when required.
Workshop overview
Activity steps
Time needed
You will
Students will
Starter discussion
10 minutes
Introduce the learning
outcomes for the workshop
and encourage students to
ask lots of questions about
the pictures. Introduce the
idea of open and closedended questions.
Write questions about 5
different photographs
posted around the
classroom.
Activity
15 minutes
Show a video and
encourage students to
ask as many open-ended
questions as possible.
Explain the difference
between scientific and nonscientific questions.
Identify and categorise
questions as either
scientific or non-scientific.
Discuss who might ask
these different kinds of
questions in their jobs.
Help students to think
about who might ask these
different kinds of questions
in their jobs.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
2
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Activity steps
Time needed
You will
Students will
Follow-on
activity
10 minutes
Assist students to
brainstorm different
methodologies for
investigating a scientific
question. The purpose is
not to develop a rigorous
experiment, but to identify
how questions are the first
step to solving problems an important part of being
a scientist or engineer.
Groups choose one of the
scientific questions from
the previous activity, which
could be investigated in
an experiment. They plan
a simple investigation to
answer that question.
Plenary and
reflection
10 minutes
Discuss whether students
look at the ‘problem’
photographs differently,
and if they asked different
kinds of questions once
presented with the
engineering ‘solutions’.
Identify engineering
solutions to the problems
presented in the original
5 photographs. Identify
questions real engineers
would have asked to solve
the problem.
Encourage students to
make connections to real
life questions engineers ask
and solve every day on the
job.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
3
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
On
the day
On the day
Starter discussion
10 minutes
.ppt
Slide 2
• Before students enter the classroom, stick the 5 photographs
representing a ‘problem’ on the walls, spreading them out
around the room to avoid crowding. The ‘problem’ and ‘solution’
photographs can be downloaded as a supporting resource to this
workshop at siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project/resources.
• Ensure students each have a small stack of sticky notes.
• Have the second slide showing as students enter the room.
.ppt
Slide 3
• If you’re a Siemens volunteer take a couple of minutes to introduce
yourself, what you do, and why you’re here on behalf of Siemens
and the Curiosity Project.
Start with a couple of interesting facts about you/your career:
– ‘I received Cs in my GCSEs, but took a more practical education
route and now I’m part of a highly skilled team that installs wind
turbines across the UK.’
– ‘I’ve just come back from talking at a conference in the Middle
East and my team developed a way to test the hearing of new
born babies.’
Learning outcomes
.ppt
Slide 4
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
• Set the learning outcomes for the session.
4
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Open-ended and closed questions
.ppt
Slide 5
• Begin an introductory discussion, asking the class:
– Does anyone know the difference between a closed and an openended question?
– Which are closed and which are open-ended questions on the
PowerPoint slide?
Hint:
• Closed questions ask for a yes or no answer.
• Open-ended questions result in an explanation or description. They
usually begin with Who...How… What… Where… When… Why...
• Write the words Who? How? What? Where? When? Why? on the
whiteboard for later.
.ppt
Slide 6
• Now, draw the students’ attention to the 5 photographs displayed
around the room.
• Tell them that all the photographs represent real scenarios,
challenges, or problems.
• Give them 5 minutes to wander around the room, observing the
photos. Using a pen and sticky notes, they should post at least one
open-ended question next to each photo.
• They cannot post a question if it’s already been written by another
student; they’ll need to come up with different questions!
• Challenge them to think of as many different questions as possible.
Tips:
• Refer to the slide to provide examples of questions students could
post about the photos on the wall: Where is this? Why don’t they
use water from a tap? How would they make this water safe to
drink? Whose job is it to build wells? How much water needs to be
collected?
• If students are struggling, remind them to look at the open-ended
question prompts written on the board (Who? How? What? Where?
When? Why?).
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
5
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Activity
15 minutes
Video – Abuja: My City
.ppt
Slide 7
• Ask students:
– Who thinks they asked more questions when they were younger,
compared to now?
– Why is asking questions about things and the world still important?
• Explain that asking questions is a key part of a scientist’s and
engineer’s job. Engineers and scientists then look for solutions
that help people or solve problems – just like those shown in the
photographs – by using science, creativity and technology.
• Tell students they are now going to watch a video that presents a
number of challenges, which engineers at Siemens are helping to solve.
• Before starting the video, instruct students to write down any and all
questions that come to mind on separate sticky notes as they watch
the film. Encourage them not to filter their questions – they should
write every question down, regardless of how big or small.
• After the video, introduce the concept of scientific versus nonscientific questions.
• Ask students:
– How do we know if a question is a scientific or a non-scientific one?
Categorise your questions
.ppt
Slide 8
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
• Scientific questions are those we can disprove by experiment (testing).
• Non-scientific questions are those we can’t disprove by experiment
(testing).
• Scientific questions can lead to a hypothesis (or prediction), which
can then be proved through experimentation.
• Ask students to get into groups of 3. Tell the groups they have 3
minutes to sort their questions from the video into scientific or nonscientific piles.
• While they do this, write ‘scientific’ and ‘non-scientific’ on the board.
• After 3 minutes, ask one representative from each group to post
their group’s sticky notes in the relevant category up on the board.
• Once representatives have posted their sticky notes on the board
and have sat back down, work your way through the sticky notes on
the board. Encourage students to discuss whether questions were
categorised correctly, re-categorising the notes as needed. Can the
students rationalise their thinking?
6
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Questions about the film
.ppt
Slide 9
• Explain you’re now going to think about who might ask some of the
different types of questions posted on the board.
– For instance, scientists and engineers might ask factual/empirical
questions about how the solar panels work and wonder how
much power they produce.
– An environmental scientist might ask how much pollution is
created with solar panels compared to diesel generators.
– A politician or economist might ask how much implementing
renewable energy will cost or save taxpayers.
• Ask students:
– Who might ask some of the questions they’ve posted on the
board? What kind of job would they have?
– What other questions might an engineer or scientist ask?
Examples include: What affects how much electricity one solar panel
can provide? How noisy is a generator? How long can a laptop/phone
run on battery power? How much sunlight is there in the tropics –
does it change seasonally, and why would this matter?
Follow-on activity
10 minutes
Investigating your question
.ppt
Slide 10
• Hand out worksheets and ask students to complete the ‘Investigating
your question’ section of the worksheet.
• Ask each group to choose one scientific question from the board.
• Give students 5 minutes to:
– Predict the answer to the question.
– State what kind of information or data they would need to collect to
answer the question.
– Discuss how they’d set up an experiment to get the information or
data.
Tip: The precise plan is not important here – the key is to establish
whether or not the question could be answered by making a prediction
and carrying out an experiment.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
7
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Question time!
Plenary and reflection
10 minutes
Questions that lead to solutions
.ppt
Slide 11
• Wrap up the session by introducing the 5 ‘solution’ photos.
• One by one, hold the photos up for the class to see. Explain that these
represent engineering solutions to one of the problems/challenges
displayed on the walls around the classroom.
• Ask students:
– What problem does this invention/design/product solve?
– Once you agree as a class, stick the ‘solution’ photo next to its
‘problem’ photo on the wall. Follow this process for the 4 remaining
solution photos.
• Remind students that engineers are people who ask questions
and look for solutions that help people or solve problems by using
science, creativity and technology.
• Students will now complete the ‘Questions that lead to solutions’
section of their worksheet.
• Working individually, ask students to choose a problem/solution set
on the wall. They need to write at least 1 question they think an
engineer would have asked which led to developing the solution.
Tip: Using the slide as an example, the linking questions that led to
the invention/design of the water pump could be, ‘How can we adapt
technology used in the UK to work in developing countries?’, ‘How can
we draw clean water out from the ground during a drought?’, ‘How
deep do we need to dig to get clean water?’
• Encourage students to go and look more closely at their chosen
photograph sets if necessary.
• After students have written down their question(s) on their
worksheets, ask a few of them to share what they wrote.
– Were their question(s) similar to the ones they wrote down when
they first saw the problem photos at the start of the workshop?
– What other engineering solutions/inventions do they know about?
What questions might the engineer who designed those solutions
have asked?
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
8
Curious about the
digital world?
Curious about using
and creating
energy?
Bringing Science,
Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics to life
Curious about
keeping people
healthy?
Curious about
making things?
The Curiosity
Project
Curious about being
on the move?
Careers and education resources
Curious about using
andQuestion
creating
time!
energy?
Careers
Careers in engineering:
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
Apprenticeships:
siemens.co.uk/careers/en/students/apprenticeships.htm
Graduates:
siemens.co.uk/careers/en/graduate/graduate.htm
Internships:
siemens.co.uk/careers/en/students/internships/internships.htm
Careers at Siemens Global:
siemens.com/jobs/en/index.php
Education resources
For students
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project/youngpeople
siemens.co.uk/education/en/students
For teachers: Key Stages 2-4
siemens.co.uk/education/en/teachers
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
9