Search

News

Crank it Up Beamish engineering 2NCD Engineering Lecturers, Graham Thompson and Chris Dawson, were invited to Beamish Museum to judge their “Crank It Up” STEM competition.

The competition welcomed entries from schools around the North East. Each team was briefed with building a model crane, using Knex building kits and hitting specific height requirements. The crane also had to be able to swivel and move in each direction, as well as lift a 30g weight.

The teams of Year 4 and Year 5 budding engineers explained how they had fulfilled the brief, and demonstrated the functionality on their crane. Judges, Graham and Chris, asked the teams about their designs, how they worked as a team and if they faced any challenges.

All four judges were impressed with the knowledge and quality of work produced by the young engineers.

Crank it Up Beamish engineering 1Graham Thompson, Mechanical Engineering Lecturer, said:

“The young engineers presented themselves very well at such a big event. It was great to visit Beamish Museum and see engineering and design engaging such a young audience – Chris and I hope to see them in New College’s engineering workshops in the future!”

Each team received feedback on their project and were presented with a certificate to thank them for their hard work.

Graham and Chris received amazing feedback from the schools involved, Helen Talbot, Learning Co‑ordinator (STEM), commented:

"It was so helpful to have industry based judges, mentors and workshop providers. Graham and Chris really added significant value to the activities we offer schools; although we can organise all the logistics and provide the framework, your in depth engineering knowledge and experience are vital for helping to guide the pupils through their projects and broaden their understanding of the types of people who work in engineering and the roles available. I am so very grateful for the time and skills that you have volunteered for Beamish, and appreciate how much it helps our project."