Big Bang Fair wows crowds in Birmingham
Thousands of students from across the Black Country got a glimpse into the exciting world of science and maths at this year’s Big Bang Fair.
The event, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC, aims to show children how a love of the two subjects can lead to careers in engineering and technology.
Students were able to take part in a variety of activities and workshops run by hundreds of science and engineering-based companies.
They could even try their hand at surgery, identifying body parts in a gooey rubber doll to develop their biology skills.
Birmingham City University put on the workshop, also teaching children about the skeleton and x-rays.
AJ Wallace, radiographer and lecturer, said: “We come here to show how an interest in biology can lead to careers in medicine and what that entails. We look to require and train paramedics, nurses to doctors and other roles such as radiography, which I specialise in.”
Engineers from JCB were also on hand to show students how to build their own mini-digger and learn about a career with the firm.
Simon Wood, registrations manager at JCB, said: “I think there is a misconception that all engineers are male when in fact women are award-winning engineers with us and events such as this enable us to show what a career with JCB really is all about.”
Tata consultancy and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) were on hand to show how thermal imaging cameras can be used to show the naturally occurring contours in sand and how technology is advancing in the industry. Cameron Hargreaves, application manager for JLR, said: “The technology makes an everyday box of sand, which children love, into a colourful example of how the technology works to explore natural contours in the land and shows where water would naturally form.”
Robots were also on display with students given the chance to control and compete against each other using them.
Xander Soldeat, a software engineer of Vex robotics, said: “It’s great for me to come out and see how the things we design have an impact on students.
“They can make their own robots from the packs we provide and it teaches them problem solving, improves their cognitive skills and enables them to create something unique.”
The fair runs until tomorrow. Visit www.thebigbangfair.co.uk
