In June, Techniquest welcomed local town planners to deliver a hands-on careers day to primary school children.
The Royal Town Planning Institute’s Planning Project gave more than 60 Mount Stuart pupils an inside look at a career that shapes the world around us, from the streets we walk on to the schools they study in.
The students, from Years 4 and 5, met professional planners like the RTPI’s own Dr Roisin Wilmott, learned the role of statistics in planning from ONS workers, and even tried their hand at designing their own towns.
Techniquest CEO Lesley Kirkpatrick, who is herself a Chartered Town Planner, said: “When people talk about science, very often the image that springs to mind is of a white lab coat and Bunsen burners, whereas in fact there’s a huge range of subjects that fall under the umbrella of science – and town planning is just one of them!
“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to give classes from two different schools the chance to find out more about what it means to create your very own environment from scratch, and what it’s like to work in that profession.
“The RTPI have been so generous in bringing this concept to life with us and sponsoring such an interesting pilot.
“We hope that we can make it part of our more regular educational offer in the future.”
The group was split in two and competed against each other to design the perfect town, focusing on functionality, amenities, and — most importantly — style!
One Mount Stuart teacher said: “The children enjoyed themselves and were engaged throughout. They particularly enjoyed designing their own town and the slide.
“The staff were very friendly and helpful, and the guests that were there for the event were knowledgeable and very approachable for the children.”
It was a pleasure to host such an inspirational experience, and we give special thanks to Dr Roisin Wilmott (RTPI), Robert Chichester (C2J Planners), Emma Watkins (Prospero Planning), Sean Taylor (Dandara), Sophie Jones and Logan Keen (Wardell Armstrong), and the Office for National Statistics.