In October, more than 180 children from three primary schools local to Blaenavon were invited to spend the day at Techniquest thanks to a generous donation from GOS Engineering.
The Blaenavon-based company — who are a market-leading manufacturer of rail road vehicles (RRVs) — provided Coed Y Garn Primary, Penygarn Primary, and Blaenavon Heritage School £1,000 each to cover the cost of travel and admission for a day out on our site.
The children enjoyed free rein of two floors of interactive exhibits, got to learn all about STEM from our floor staff, and were even taken to far-away galaxies on our Star Tours, held in our 360° Planetarium.
GOS Engineering’s managing director Neil Gregory, who kindly funded the project, said: “At GOS, we are committed to helping introduce science and technology into schools and delighted to work with Techniquest in delivering their programmes — hopefully to inspire some of the engineers of tomorrow.”
And during their visit, we got to hear from Lesley Holland, one of the teachers at Blaenavon Heritage school, about what this opportunity meant for their students.
She said: “It’s gone towards providing an unforgettable experience for the children that may never have happened without the donation.
“They’ve loved the Bernoulli blower and the low light area in particular!”
Located in areas of deprivation with high FSM (Free School Meal) percentages, the support of the manufacturing company gave the pupils the valuable experience of learning outside the classroom.
Lesley Kirkpatrick, CEO of Techniquest, said: “We know how challenging it can be for schools to find funds for learning outside the classroom these days and without this generous donation from GOS Tool & Engineering Services, these children may never have been able to spend time exploring the world of science at Techniquest.
“We are incredibly grateful to Neil for his generous support.”
Karen Harris, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the science discovery centre, added: “We’re so grateful to GOS Engineering for enabling these pupils to experience all that Techniquest has to offer — and from the feedback we’ve received from the schools involved, it’s clear that they enjoyed themselves as much as we enjoyed hosting them.”
We would once again like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Neil Gregory and the rest of GOS Engineering, and all the teaching staff that helped provide the pupils with a memorable day here at Techniquest.