The University of Westminster’s Department of Engineering and the Outreach Team was honoured to partner with the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) UK and Ireland Section’s annual Members Open Day by hosting an open day of STEM activities on Saturday 7 October. Students of all ages, interested in exploring some of the innovations in technology that are shaping our future, were welcomed to the event.
As one of the leading organisations on a global level IEEE is currently active in over 160 countries in all fields from medical electronics, power and energy to computing and communications engineering, with over 11,000 members in the UK and Ireland. Some of these topics were presented to the participants on the open day.
STEM activities included a short lecture on Collision Detection, with children having fun in trying their hand at building circuits from an easy to understand intuitive perspective and gaining the satisfaction of seeing their ideas and creations come to life and work using Snap Circuit. Students along with their parents also learnt about the exciting part of Mathematics that is at the heart of all Engineering and Technological breakthroughs and how it is applied in the creation of video games. They were composed a construction challenge using simple tools/ingredients such as Spaghetti and Marshmallow candy where they had to create a construction taking into consideration the laws of physics, especially gravity, to create a perfectly balanced tall tower.