Civil engineering family fun day
Charlotte Jenks has joined us in our Liverpool office this week to find out more about civil, structural and environmental engineering. As part of her placement, she attended a civil engineering event for families at Liverpool’s Central Library. Here’s her round up of the workshop:
“On 21st August, in Liverpool Central Library Curtins were able to support a free event called “Civil engineering family fun day” set up by ICE Merseyside. The event was for young people aged 6-14 years old with the aim to inspire them and raise awareness about the opportunities that civil engineering can offer.
The event allowed the children an insight into leading technology, like a chance to use a virtual drone or a virtual reality headset to see Keele University’s new building, a project Curtins is currently involved in.
The children were also able to do a water challenge which highlighted the importance of civil engineering in developing the best quality and most cost-effective coastal defences. Another fun activity the children could take part in was to build the highest structure out of straws that could also hold the weight of a golf ball.
The children also seemed to enjoy the Lego building activity, where they could use their imaginations to build all kinds of structures like different buildings and bridges. The families of the children were also very impressed with the event, with some saying it gave their children a, “Great understanding of construction” and that it was an, “Excellent opportunity to see what civil engineering involves.” Others said that, “It has shown them the vast variety of career pathways you can follow within civil engineering.”
The event was a success as many of the children learned about civil engineering through videos and fun, hands-on activities. I wish there was an event like this provided to me when I was younger as it would’ve opened my eyes to all the different areas of civil engineering that are out there. Throughout the event I was pleased to see so many young girls taking a keen interest into civil engineering and I hope they have been inspired to think about joining a field of industry that has been heavily male-dominated in the past.
I hope Curtins and ICE are able to hold many more free events like these over the coming years to inspire many more children about the vast opportunities that Civil engineering has to offer.”
Written by Charlotte Jenks.