Chalfonts Goes Off With A Bang
On 17th March forty-five Year 9 students found out as they were part of the Big Bang Show at the NEC. They attended along with several thousand other students from all over the country and explored science, technology, engineering and maths in a massive auditorium with hundreds of interactive shows and displays.
How do you explain the theory behind the speed of sound or show the effect of sustainable energy?
‘The robots were so cool and the army truck was awesome’ - Finn Mitchell
‘I liked the large shows which explained the maths and science theory’ - Luke Scott
‘The Rolls-Royce engine was amazing; I might go and work for them one day! - Dylan Duce
The visit was organised to promote the STEM subjects to the students in a fun and experimental way. All the students took part in a range of activities and experiments that brought to life some of the learning that they have seen this year and lots that they have yet to experience.
Amongst the accompanying staff was one of the STEM Ambassadors, Mr Rik Allan, an electronics and software engineer for Altera. He was able to explain some of the finer points of the high tech equipment as well as talking to the students about what engineers do in the real world.
Altera like many engineering organisations struggle to find the talent they need to develop their products. Events like the Big Bang show really bring science and engineering to life and makes recruitment a little easier.
James Giles, Head of Faculty – Technology, Engineering & ICT