After dodging lasers, powering up spacecrafts, and solving engineering puzzles in the new engineering shows at Techniquest, the students’ learning opportunities were only just getting started.
Thanks to generous funding from the Royal Academy of Engineering, nearly 1,200 children from 27 different schools got to visit Techniquest free of charge in October to immerse themselves in our new live show Mission: Engineer or get hands-on in the new Micro Engineers interactive workshop.
Ahmed Ibrahim, who represented RAE on a visit to see the shows at Techniquest, said: “The project was brilliant! It was engaging and the story kept the students excited for the whole duration.
“I loved the idea of putting some challenges they need to solve to get somewhere — this makes the students focused and encouraged to participate.
“It’s important to fund a project like this one as it builds capacity in engineering public engagement, inspires the young generations, motivates engineers to share their expertise, and raises awareness about the diversity and impact of engineering, particularly among underrepresented groups.”
The main aim of the new three-stage programme is to enthuse primary school children with engineering in and out of the classroom.
And, as phase two of the dynamic programme, RAE engineers — alongside our own development team — put together resource packages for teachers to use in the classroom over the autumn period, which included introductory presentations on three key fields of engineering: electrical, environmental, and aeronautical.
These will help to support learning in the classroom and ensure that the magic of engineering doesn’t stop in Techniquest.
The final part of the Emergency: Engineers Wanted project is the STEM Friends Pen Pal scheme, which allows the children to communicate directly with engineers in different fields and establish connections in the industry from an early age.
In total, 41 classes make up the Pen Pals scheme, and they’ll be paired with one of 46 engineers from industry leaders like KLA, DOW, and Renishaw.
Starting after October half-term, these ‘STEM Friend’ engineers will seek to answer questions, widen knowledge bases, and hopefully spark the curiosity of these young minds to pursue a career the industry.
We would like to thank the Royal Academy of Engineering for their generous funding and commitment to inspiring the next generation of engineers.