The finals of the “2024 National Student Remote-Controlled Sailboat STEAM Maker Competition” recently took place at the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology in Keelung. Among 33 teams nationwide, Ching Shuei Junior High School from Taichung City, led by teacher Yu-Shan Ma with students Yi-Rou, Zhou Zi-Qing Zhou, Hong-Xiang Wang, and Han-Wei Cai participated; Fu Chuen Primary School from Fengyuan District, led by teacher Hong-Li Zheng with students Xian-Rui Wang, Yun-Zhi Qiu Huang, Yi-Shan Xie, and Yu-Tong Lin, won the Excellence Award in the junior high and elementary school division and received an honorable mention in the cross-level high school division challenge!

Education Bureau of Taichung Director Wei-Min Jiang noted that Mayor Shih-Yen Lu emphasizes technology education and invests resources to encourage schools to build a foundation in students' technology education. In addition to establishing two maker education and technology centers in the mountain, sea, harbor, and central districts, the city offers technology education promotion and winter/summer vacation courses and camp activities. The city has also established STEAM demonstration schools for kindergartens and elementary/junior high schools and collaborates with the National Taichung University of Science and Technology to cultivate STEAM education seed teachers to deepen STEAM education.

The Education Bureau noted that this National Student Remote-Controlled Sailboat STEAM Maker Competition emphasizes STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) interdisciplinary learning, combining remote-controlled sailboat design and operation. It covers various skills, including sailing principles, control techniques, and team collaboration. Competitors needed to handle different wind directions within a limited time to complete challenging loading tasks, fully utilizing their theoretical knowledge to solve practical challenges.

 Ching Shuei Junior High School Principal Yu-Zong Zeng pointed out the school had formed a community team of natural science, mathematics, and living technology teachers to guide participating students. Through continuous discussion between teachers and students, they proposed solution strategies, integrating technology implementation and scientific principles to stand out in this competition. Fu Chuen Primary School Principal Meng-Zhu Wu said that these results demonstrate the students' efforts and the school's achievement in STEAM education cultivation. They will continue to promote technology and maker education, encouraging students to express creativity and challenge themselves.

 Ching Shuei Junior High School instructor Yu-Shan Ma shared that students simulated competition conditions using pools and wind machines to identify variables and solve problems. The most crucial aspect was that students could continuously test and discuss difficulties encountered during operation with teachers, sparking different ideas and pursuing breakthroughs. Fu Chuen Primary School Technology Center instructor Hong-Li Zheng said that this competition was not only a demonstration of students' technical skills and knowledge but also a verification of their learning attitude and team spirit.

Participating students also said they learned to handle pressure calmly through the competition and developed teamwork chemistry to face challenges together. Besides accumulating experience, they also discovered the joy in the process from theory to practice.