Over 800 students from Westmeath are expected to take part in Engineers Week.
Running from Monday February 9 to Friday February 13, the week long series of activities in Westmeath is organised by Engineers Ireland, the representative voice of the engineering profession in this country, and is focused on creating a positive awareness about engineering in Ireland.
John Power, director general of Engineers Ireland said, “Engineers Ireland is encouraging everyone including school children, parents and teachers in Westmeath to use Engineers Week as an opportunity to find out more about the engineering profession and see the varied work of engineers that they experience every day. Engineers are responsible for creativity, design, and innovation and they will be the foundation block for Ireland’s future as we seek to rebuild the economy.”
The highlight of this week will be held in the army barracks in Athlone where students will get the chance to build and launch their own rocket. This involves primary and secondary school students building their own rockets under the supervision of expert Irish Army personnel. After building the rockets, students will launch their rockets into the sky over Athlone travelling at over 300 kph. At 250 metres altitude a parachute will be deployed and the rocket will return to earth for each student to keep. Other shows happening during the week in Westmeath include a K’Nex challenge rocket building marathon, a bridge building competition, and a radio transmitter demonstration where students get to experience how radio waves travelled across the world, a century before the invention of SMS text messaging. All participants at an event during Engineers Week will have the opportunity to be entered into a draw to win a once in a lifetime trip to the Space Expo, in Nordwijk, The Netherlands.
For more dates and times for the events taking place in Westmeath during Engineers Week please visit www.weekofwonder.ie
