This year’s event will take place at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing’s Knowledge Transfer Centre and will involve around 120 pupils from schools around the Sheffield area.
The one day event is designed to give young people, aged 12 to 14, hands on experience of different types of engineering by getting them to work in teams to solve four engineering challenges, set by the institutions.
The ICE will run the skyscraper challenge asking teams to build the tallest tower with as few Lego bricks as possible.Consideration will need to be given to the forces that act in large towers and how these remain stable in different environments.
The IET challenge looks at the technology behind ‘vacuum tube trains’, capable of travelling at 4000mph, as a lower cost alternative to air travel and will get the youngsters to engineer their own small scale vacuum tube train.
The IoM3 challenge will explore how materials play a central role in our lives and have helped to change and improve the technology we rely on.
Meanwhile, the IMechE will be helping the teams of youngsters to build an air-powered model of the Bloodhound supersonic car and compete against each other to see which team’s will go the furthest and fastest.
Rolls-Royce manufacturing engineering programme manager Ian Crowston, who is leading the team organising the event, said: “The Engineering Extravaganza is an interactive event, designed to inspire young teenagers and their teachers about STEM subjects.
“It gives them an opportunity to spend time with engineers, technologists and scientists. We hope that both the students and their teachers will find the event educational and rewarding and give them an introduction to the careers options available to STEM subject students.”
The Extravaganza takes place on Tuesday March 15, at the same time as the AMRC Training Centre will be staging a series of events to mark National Apprenticeship Week.
