Engineers Week took place all over Ireland last week and it included a number of activities with Midlands Science.
One of the week’s highlights was an Exploring Engineering Day which took place in the Athlone Education Centre in partnership with the Medtronic Foundation. This day brought together a number of students from secondary schools, where they learnt about what it is like to work as an engineer and undertook a number of hands on engineering activities with local Medtronic employee volunteers.
Jackie Gorman of Midlands Science commented “We were delighted this year that through support from the Medtronic Foundation, students were afforded the opportunity to explore the creative world of engineering and the limitless opportunities a career in the sector can offer. They also got to meet with local Medtronic employee volunteers and through hands on activities, they could see that engineers are problem-solvers and very creative. These skills are highly useful in every role and the more we can encourage people to see the problem-solving and creativity at the heart of engineering, the more impact we can have in creating the amazing engineers of the future.”
“We’re proud to partner with Midlands Science to remove barriers to STEM education,”, said Lara Fedorov, programmes and partnerships manager for Medtronic Foundation. “By connecting students with local experts leading hands on activities, students not only see the possibility of a future in STEM, but they have the opportunity to interact with people who are already in the field.”
Other activities that took place during Engineers Week in the midlands included a variety of primary and secondary school workshops, including activities with Mark Langtry, RTÉ Children’s TV Presenter. Engineering is involved in so many everyday things and Midlands Science has encouraged teaches and parents to find creative ways to explore engineering – everything from building marble runs with cereal boxes and marbles to building a tower with matchsticks and marshmallows can be a great way to start working with very young budding engineers. It doesn’t have to be very complicated to start with and it’s always lots of fun. There are lots of online resources to help with activities including on Midlands Science’s social media channels. More information on www.midlandsscience.ie
