Over 2,500 pupils from across the North East explored the world of engineering at the region’s first ‘Bring it On!’ event.
The two-day exhibition, the first event of its kind in the North East, took place on the 3rd and 4th October at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
Over 60 exhibitors from across the region, including Komatsu, Hitachi and Cleveland Bridge, provided interactive and entertaining exhibits, aimed at encouraging young people to consider a career in engineering.
Six zones, which greeted the 78 primary and 78 secondary schools across the two days, showcased the work of the exhibitors giving young people an insight into the industry. The zones included: Subsea, Chemical, Automotive, Digital, Civil Engineering and Engineer your Career.
As well as providing a fun experience, exhibitors educated pupils about engineering through their interactive exhibits, which included activities such as learning about the complexity of car seat assembly from Lear Corporation, how to build a robotic arm and how to design, build and test their own wind turbine blades.
Pupils were also treated to a bespoke engineering show, thanks to sponsorship from the Cleveland Scientific Institution, delivered by internationally renowned freelance science and engineering communicator Dr. Bunhead, Tom Pringle, who has over 20 years’ experience in delivering science performances and immersive training programmes.
Tom Kellerman, a year nine pupil from Nunthorpe Academy said: “‘Bring it On!’ has introduced me to so many areas of engineering that I never knew existed, and I’m now considering a career in some of them.”
The event included an exclusive ‘Teachers’ Event’, which saw educators meet industry ambassadors to find out about the opportunities engineering can offer and how they can be linked to the curriculum, in an accredited CPD session delivered by STEM Learning.
Educators who visited the Teachers’ Resource Area also had the opportunity to meet a number of exhibitors from a range of engineering related, educational resource providers.
Jenny Lines, teacher at Dame Allan’s Schools, said: “Both staff and students had a great day at the ‘Bring it On!’ event.
“The exhibition was well supported by lots of local companies, as well as the main institutions, giving us all an excellent introduction to the breadth of engineering careers.
“The students loved having a go at the many hands-on activities on offer, coming away with a really positive attitude towards engineering and lots of new ideas to explore.”
Following the success of the exhibition, organisers of ‘Bring it On!’ are looking forward to inspiring the region’s future engineers once again when the event returns next year.
If you would like to find out more about the innovative exhibition, please visit www.bringitonne.co.uk.
Twitter: @BringItOnNE