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Science Proves a Hit with Students

Hundreds of Maidstone pupils came face-to-face with the world of science and engineering when they took part in this year’s Growing Scientist Expo at The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

The event, which was sponsored by the Rochester Bridge Trust, featured a range of exhibits designed to show students the practical applications of science-related subjects.

The displays included a snooker-playing robot, a high-tech weather forecasting unit, miniature cannons, and gas-propelled racing cars.

They were able to get hands-on with mechanical diggers, construct bridges from straws and marshmallows, build balloon-powered vehicles and see how different hull designs affected the performance of boats.

The exhibition was the culmination of this year’s Growing Scientist project, a two-year programme backed by £60,000 from the Rochester Bridge Trust, that aims to show up to 1,000 pupils a year how science, technology, engineering and mathematics have exciting, real-life applications.

The initiative involves Maidstone Grammar School, Maidstone Girls’ Grammar School, St Simon Stock, St Augustine Academy, Sutton Valence School, Invicta Grammar School and Oakwood Park Grammar School.

Russell Race, Senior Warden of the Rochester Bridge Trust, added: “We were absolutely delighted The Historic Dockyard Chatham and so many businesses, professional bodies and academic institutions supported the exhibition. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and for making the event such a success.

“It is very important science and engineering flourish and that we engage students in a lively way and encourage them to consider science as a possible future career.”

Notes:

1. The Rochester Bridge Trust is a charitable trust that exists to maintain the old and new bridges at Rochester and serve the travelling public. It is the only surviving bridge trust still serving its original purpose, and it has served the people of Kent since 1399. The Trust also supports numerous community and education projects across historic Kent and Medway.

2. The Trust’s assets all derive from endowments of land and money in the 14th and 15th centuries and are carefully managed in order to provide an income to fund bridge maintenance and local charitable grants. The Trust receives no external funding and is regulated by the Charity Commission.

For more information:

The Rochester Bridge Trust
5 Esplanade
Rochester
Kent ME1 1QE
Tel: 01634 846706
Fax: 01634 840125

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