The NeXt Factor
Our future is shaped by innovation, ideas and research.
Visitors at the Big Bang Fair could discover how tomorrow’s world is being made today!
Engineering for the future
Visitors could take part in BAE Systems Treasure Trail and found out why engineering is the lifeblood of the BAE Systems company and the Royal Air Force. They met their robot 'Brains' and could fly BAE System's Typhoon aircraft cockpit simulator like the Royal Air Force's fighter pilots. Guests tried on body armour and discovered how their clothing could carry the antennae of the future!
The Royal Academy of Engineering and The Royal Society
The Royal Academy of Engineering and The Royal Society are the UK’s national academies for science and engineering. Both academies joined together in partnership and presented a stimulating and thought-provoking interactive exhibition zone and gave young people the opportunity to engage directly with cutting edge science and engineering research and researchers.
Observing the Invisible Universe
Guests could meet
scientists involved in forefront work in obtaining the best images of the invisible Universe using the latest instruments, including the Planck and Herschel spacecraft and the e-MERLIN telescope. Visitors explored the appearance of the Universe at a variety of wavelengths using an interactive simulation of the sky, examined their surroundings with an infra-red camera and discussed the latest results arriving live from e-MERLIN.
Brought to you by the University of Manchester.
Researchers in Residence
The demonstrations showcased different applications of science and other academic topics and how these are relevant to most aspects of everyday life, from working in a laboratory to subjects covered in class. For example, one of the demonstrations examined the formation of different types of rock and exhibited a collection of meteorite samples, which visitors could examine under a microscope.
Wildscreen
Guests e
xplored endangered species with Wildscreen. www.arkive.org has over 45,000 films and photographs of endangered species freely available online. Visitors challenged themselves to see what they could find!
Material Futures
Materials Future brought together some of the most exciting areas of materials science in a set of hands-on demonstrations; “Fuelling the Future” focussed on materials applications in energy production such as nuclear power, bio fuels and solar panels, “Driving the Future”, focussed on transportation materials, “Picturing the Future” looked at how imaging technology is used to learn more about materials and “Engineering the Future” looked at materials from a building and engineering perspective. The exhibit provided an opportunity for visitors to try out hands on demonstrations, work with interactive computer tools and quiz the scientists who work with the technology every day.
Brought to you by the University of Manchester.
Living With A Star
The Sun produces the light and heat needed for human survival, however, it also has a destructive side, and blasts parts of its atmosphere into the solar system. At the Big Bang Fair, The Sun was explored using data from the latest space missions. Teachers and students were also be able to explore the SunTrek educational resources website.
Lego Mindstorms
Mindstorms are a form of Lego set combining the traditional bricks and axels of traditional Technic Lego with more advanced features such as electric motors and sensors, all based around a microcontroller interfaced with via NI LabVIEW software. We used Lego Mindstorms NXT v2.0 to inspire students. The challenge was to create an advanced smart-robot capable of importing and playing sound files, displaying imported pictures, colour sensing and obeying user orders; all with less than half an hour of building time. Although the NXT 2.0 Lego set is recommended for ages 10+, the potential use of more advanced technology such as microcontrollers ensured that there was enough scope for the older students to keep occupied too.
Design Mark
For each day of the event there was one school who have previously received the Design Mark, represented by two members of teaching staff and between 6 – 8 pupils, plus a designer and 2 PGCE design students. On Thursday and Friday they were from a secondary school, and on Saturday it was from a primary school.
During each day a Design Challenge activity was running, where the pupils worked with a designer and design student to a predefined brief. Following an initial brainstorm the group ‘worked up’ their ideas and created design solutions.
Theatre Shows
Thursday
| 10 am | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 10:30 am | ActionDog |
| 11:00 am | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| 11:30 am | Accelerate! |
| Midday | Speed networking |
| 12:30 | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 1:00 | ActionDog |
| 1:30 | Accelerate! |
| 2:00 | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| 2:30 | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 3:00 | Speed networking |
| 3:30 | ActionDog |
| 4:00 | Accelerate! |
Friday
| 10 am | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| 10:30 am | ActionDog |
| 11:00 am | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 11:30 am | Accelerate! |
| Midday | Speed networking |
| 12:30 | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 1:00 | ActionDog |
| 1:30 | Accelerate! |
| 2:00 | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| 2:30 | Magic of Maths & Computing |
| 3:00 | Speed networking |
| 3:30 | ActionDog |
| 4:00 | Accelerate! |
Saturday
| 10:30 am | ActionDog |
| 11:00 am | Accelerate! |
| 11:30 am | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| Midday | Speed networking |
| 12:30 | ActionDog |
| 1:00 | Accelerate! |
| 1:30 | An Introduction to Nanotech |
| 2:00 | ActionDog |
| 2:30 | Accelerate! |
| 3:00 | Speed networking |
| 3:30 | An Introduction to Nanotech. |
