Almost 200 children, university students and adults came along to the Greater London Region (GLR) Volunteer Committee’s Christmas event, contributing to a hive of engineering activity.
As Charles Ingram CEng FIMechE, Chair of the GLR committee explained, back in Summer 2017, committee members decided to swap the traditional festive lecture for an evening of interactive, fun pursuits, for ‘children of all ages’. It became known as ‘tinkering’, and the name stuck.
“Our aim was to encourage engineering in the next generation, reflecting so much of what we do as volunteers and on behalf of the Institution. We felt that hands-on activities run by enthusiastic people, including engineering students, would be enjoyed by everyone, especially children.
“We invited people from companies, such as Rolls-Royce; and representatives including from the Bloodhound project, the IET, IChemE, RAeS, RAF, Kingston University and Imperial College, to set up activities on every floor of HQ and engage children in ‘tinkering’, so that they could see for themselves how much fun engineering can be.”
Stalls included 3-D printing; jet-engine design; Bloodhound-themed model-making; creating LED torches; flying drones; robotics; railway track geometry; Lego robots and K’nex cars – as well as a careers zone and refreshments. The evening also included two lectures: Air Commodore Paul Lloyd (RAF) on ‘Autonomous Flight’ and Dr Thrishantha Nanayakkara (Imperial College) on ‘AI and Robotics’. Kingston’s Formula Student car even took up residence in the foyer of the building!
Daniel Ronen CEng FIMechE MRAeS brought his son to the event and was impressed by the quality and scope of tinkering on offer. He contacted the organisers to say, “My son enjoyed himself greatly, and by the look of the other attendees, he was in the majority. The programme was highly engaging with many hands-on activities, which I could see captured the imagination of the audience. I am aware how much time and effort it takes to organise such events and I would like to express my gratitude to you and the entire organising team.”
Three volunteers from Rolls-Royce also expressed their appreciation. The company’s Education Outreach Manager, Nicola Swaney, said,
“Events such as your ‘Tinkering evening’ are vital in our drive to enthuse young people about STEM and it was a pleasure to support you – thank you for inviting us!”
Charles Ingram said the emphasis on interactivity was what made the event so successful.
“There was a fantastic buzz of excitement throughout the building. The logistics and organisational demands were a massive challenge – in the months before, as well as on the night – but the feeling that everyone was having fun with engineering was magical. The huge variety of tinkering opportunities, thanks to the efforts of all who took part, was impressive.”
It was a great opportunity to showcase Bloodhound, too. David Hanson BSc CEng MIMechE oversaw model-making with fellow volunteer Christopher Lowther CEng FIMechE. David recounted a comment from a teacher, who had brought three lively, fully engaged boys. “He said, ‘At school I can’t get them to do anything: here I can’t get them to stop!’”
The event was, according to Charles, the largest he has been involved in as a volunteer. The snowball effect of enthusiasm as companies – and schools – were approached, was matched by the fantastic response from regional volunteers and staff at HQ. Within a few weeks, 270 requests for bookings had been received (it was free to attend, but ticketed).
The Head of Mathematics at the North London Collegiate School, who booked 10 spaces but said she wished she could have 20, wrote, “It’s just the sort of thing we need at this time of the year!”
Would the committee run such an event again? The GLR Volunteer Committee has agreed it would like to and, although Charles' own term of office is coming to an end, he will be encouraging the next Chairman to do it again:
“Actually, we wished we had held an event at this intensity before, despite all the logistical challenges. Now we can build on the experience we have gained. The response was that it was the best Christmas event we have ever put on, it’s had a fantastic impact, it just takes a huge effort.
“Without the contributors and their enthusiastic support it wouldn’t have happened, so I have to once again thank the committee for all their work, all the volunteers, the staff at HQ, and of course all of the contributors and attendees who helped us have such a special evening.”
Find out more about the GLR Volunteer Committee.