Pupils from The Rowans AP Academy took part in a virtual engineering careers event and practical challenge led by the Rochester Bridge Trust, on Wednesday, 10th July.
Delivered as a Virtual Engineering Experience, the Year 10 youngsters were given a presentation about the potential of engineering as a career. This included demonstrating the huge impact engineers have on improving our daily lives, and encouraging participants to think about how engineers innovate, problem solve and test designs.
This was followed by a paper bridge challenge that encourages learners to think like a civil engineer, as they design and build the strongest bridges possible using just paper and sticky tape.
Trust Education Officer Claire Saunders explained: “As in the real world, civil engineers must consider the best design for their structure. This challenge encourages pupils to think about classroom learning and apply it in a real-world context, in this case using knowledge of structures and forces that they would have learned in science, maths, and design & technology lessons.”
Virtual Engineering Experiences are offered by the Trust free of charge. A member of the team joins the classroom remotely, delivering activities and supporting STEM learning.