The National Eisteddfod is
the foremost cultural event in Wales lasting 8 days and attracting an average
of about 20,000 people daily to enjoy all aspects of the arts. It is also an
opportunity to engage with the public and young people to promote Engineering
and Science in the Science & Technology Pavilion. This increasingly popular
venue within the festival typically attracts between 5 and 6,000 people a day,
many of which are young people, parents and teachers.
As in the past, IMechE
participation is through a Joint Engineering Institution umbrella of the
Engineering & Science Group North Wales. This year we attended alongside
our colleagues in the IET, ICE and the Nuclear Institute. We also invited EESW
(Engineering Education Scheme Wales) to bring the ‘F1 for schools’ activity to
the stand. This entailed us negotiating with the Eisteddfod organisers to
permit the 20m track to be accommodated in the Gazebo area outside the main
Pavilion.
Volunteers from all the
professional bodies helped us to man interactive activities and stands promoting
STEM. This year we were extremely lucky in having a large number of young Welsh
speaking volunteers from across the disciplines, travelling from Sellafield,
Liverpool and Manchester as well as local companies in North Wales.
In addition to the F1 event
other interactive activities included the ever popular ICE Bridge for schools,
IET LED torch making and our own Mindstorm EV3 Rubic cube solver. The F1 event
proved extremely popular with a constant stream of cars being manufactured and
raced throughout 6 of the 8 days. Apart from 1 day when we experienced heavy
rain, the ICE bridge construction also went well, sited in the open air outside
the Pavilion.
We also agreed to run an
Engineering Challenge on 2 days using Knex kits. This was a challenge
previously used at local schools which involved building a motorised device to
climb up a smooth bore pipe. On each day, we had 4 teams of youngsters
competing. The winners and runners up received a reasonable cash prize. Bangor
University ran a similar challenge on another 2 days on an electronics theme.
A Chemistry show was held by
Bangor University twice a day in the gazebo. This was well attended by
participants of all ages.
Other participants in the Pavilion
included:
·
Horizon
(Developer for the new Nuclear build on Anglesey)
·
Magnox
(Decommissioning of existing nuclear plant)
·
Bangor,
Aberystwyth, Swansea Universities
·
Morlais (Current
flow turbine developer)
·
Lego
·
Techniquest,
Glyndwr
·
Griffiths
Construction
The age group of children engaging
in activities within the Science Pavilion is typically up to age 15 years.
However, we received numerous enquiries from parents and older children
regarding careers opportunities in engineering and other STEM subjects.
Visitors to the stand
included Carwyn Jones (Wales First Minister) and Rhun ap Iorwerth (Anglesey
Assembly member).
The Brynrefail school all
girls team who have won their place in the F1 finals in Malaysia also visited
and were presented with a cheque by Horizon to help with their costs. Our
IMechE Regional Committee will also be making a financial contribution to this
successful team.
The event organisers advise
that over 25,000 people visited the Science Pavilion during the week. The
following numbers may also be of interest:
·
ICE Bridge
building (6days): 130
·
F1 car races (6
days): 420
·
IET torches: 600
·
Engineering Challenge
(4 teams, 4 days): 38
As in previous years the
event proved to be a success. Our volunteers enjoyed the experience and would
like to repeat their participation in future years. Approaches already received
from teachers in the Region asking if we can arrange visits to promote STEM at
their schools.
Gareth Cemlyn Jones
Chairman Merseyside &
North Wales Region
24th August 2017