Activity 1: Salaya-Siam travel options. Activity 2: Rail ballast.

Picture: STEM rail activity at Open House event by Jirapat Choksuchart

• STEM activity: travel options between Salaya and Siam, Thailand (1 JPG file)

This activity is applied to a Thai context. The aim is to help MU staff and students make better informed travel choices. The activity features travel options between MU Salaya campus and Siam (central station of Bangkok metro system) with time, cost and CO2 emission parameters calculated. In the actual activity students match mode pictures (cut of of the poster) with travel options as well as compare and realise the value of individual travel parameters.

PDF version of the activity sheet is available: MetroExchange Salaya-Siam travel options PRINT A3

• STEM activity: Rail ballast (6 PDF files)

This activity can be applied to an international context. Students are encouraged to 1. listen to a presentation; 2. do the hands-on activity. The activity itself includes the following steps:

• cut out elements of a rail ballast structure from 5 sheets of paper;
• glue them accordingly;
• put them in a correct order.

The activity helps to realise how rail ballast is structured and what types of natural materials (soil, rocks) are used for it.

Activity includes 6 resources:

1. MetroExchange 00 Ballast activity slides

2. MetroExchange 01 Ballast PRINT A2

3. MetroExchange 02 Ballast PRINT A3

4. MetroExchange 03 Ballast Shoulder PRINT A3

5. MetroExchange 04 Natural Ground PRINT A2

6. MetroExchange 05 Soil PRINT A2

Suggestion: In addition to the above resources, a small rail track (out of ice-cream sticks) and a paper train model (various models available online) could be added on top of the rail ballast model to help students imagine the scale.

Picture: Rail ballast model at a primary school STEM event in Bangkok