Today, children from Currie Community High School in Edinburgh spent a day in the life of scientists and engineers, at the National Museum of Scotland, as part of the Get Energised programme.
Funded by the ScottishPower Foundation, the initiative aims to give secondary school pupils a hands-on experience of the real life worlds of science and engineering. The interactive workshops feature a series of problem solving challenges, such as building wave technology models and working water turbine and generating electricity.
Now in its second year, Get Energised has been opened up to S1 and S2 pupils, to encourage them to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) related subjects at National Qualification level; by encouraging them to engage with the challenges scientists and engineers in Scotland face every day, looking at areas such as landscape, renewable energy and weather. Last year, the project was targeted at older secondary school pupils but was expanded this year in response to demand from teachers.
Ann Loughrey, Trustee and Executive Officer, ScottishPower Foundation, said: “Here in Scotland there is currently a shortage of pupils taking STEM subjects, yet we have a fantastic reputation for producing great scientists, inventors and engineers. Our goal is to help continue this legacy, by inspiring pupils in Edinburgh, and across Scotland, to continue their studies of science throughout secondary school and potentially into a career.”
“The ScottishPower Foundation is committed to supporting community programmes that inspire young people to get more out of education, arts, culture and science. National Museums Scotland has one of the UK’s best scientific collections, as well as a strong schools outreach programme and we are pleased to continue to support them.”
Stephen Allen, Head of Learning and Programmes at National Museums Scotland, said: “We developed Get Energised to help pupils explore the impact science and technology has on our lives and our environment. Today’s workshop was a real success and we have definitely seen some future scientists and engineers in the making!”
“The science and technology collections held by National Museums Scotland are amongst the most important in Europe. We are currently in the process of developing six new galleries to display these historically and culturally significant objects. We hope our outstanding national collections will help inspire the young people who attended our workshops and encourage them to pursue a future in the fields of science and engineering.”
Irene Somerville, Physics teacher at Currie Community High School, said: "At Currie Community High School we are embedding Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths into our broad general education so workshops like today, funded by the ScottishPower Foundation, are invaluable to developing our future engineers."
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