For all those young kids who love to see how things work or make something, anything, themselves, NUI Galway is hosting a Family Fun Day this Engineers Week.
The full day event ‘Engineering Our Future: Family Fun Day’ will take place on Saturday, March 2 at the Alice Perry Engineering Building from 10am – 4pm.
Young and older people alike can delight at the spectacle of Ireland’s Ingenious Engineers’ show by Scientific Sue and get a close up look at some of the feats of engineering made by Irish scientists in the past 350 years.
Designing (probably) the best drinking chocolate in the world, creating a cloud in a bottle, exploring colour changing vegetables, making ice-cream in a baggie and sending rockets sky high are just a few of the creative demonstrations that will be used by Sue on her historical scientific journey.
‘Focus on Forces’ will look at all the different forces that affect our lives, magnetic, electrical and more, and experiment with them in fun ways.
Families will get a chance to build their own wind turbine, perform flight experiments, or interact with the many chemicals in our lives and see where they end up. Hint, it’s usually the ocean.
Peter McHugh, Dean of College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway said that they want to show people how engineering crops up in every part of our lives.
“It allows us to live, communicate, travel, work, play, stay safe and healthy,” he said.
“By taking maths and science from the lab, engineers dream of, invent, design and build things that change the reality and future of all human beings.”
And there are plenty of resources here to show how engineers at NUI Galway want to help young people change the world.
Trained CoderDojo Ninjas will be on hand to learn about programming, the GEEC team will be showing off their hyper-energy efficient car, or just relax at the LEGO play area.
A screening of the documentary ‘Dream Big: Engineering Our World’ narrated by Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges will celebrate the human creativity behind engineering marvels big and small.
From majestic wonders like the Great Wall of China and the world’s tallest buildings, to underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities.
Each shows how engineers push the limits of innovation in unexpected and amazing ways.
Dr Jamie Goggins from the School of Engineering said the great thing about having a family fun day is that children are natural engineers.
“They love to design and build things, using whatever they can get their hands on.”
“With knowledge, innovation and creativity engineers change the reality and future of all human beings.”
