Nat shares this latest news from Ryde Academy. Ed
A group of Ryde Academy Students from Year 9 had the chance to visit the Tech Deck, the Education Centre at the Land Rover BAR (the America’s Cup team led by Sir Ben Ainslie) based in Portsmouth.
Organised by the 1851 Trust, official charity to the Land Rover BAR team, this was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about the science and engineering behind sailing.
STEM Centre in new school
The focus of both the 1851 Trust and the Education Centre is to get young people interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) something which the Academy is also focusing on with a STEM centre being created in their new school and a recently appointed STEM Coordinator.
Students learnt about the history of sailing and how the clothing, equipment and boats have evolved. They also discovered more about the science behind the sails following which they designed and constructed their own which they then tested in the wind tunnel.
Exploring in virtual reality
As well as the workshop students were given free time to explore the interactive exhibits including virtual reality sailing and sound bone conduction technology.
Tom Brunton, age 14, said
“It was a really good experience and completely different to what I would normally do. I wasn’t expecting there to be so many interactive displays.”
Jo Stocks, CEO of the 1851 Trust said,
“Encouraging schools to visit the Tech Deck Education Centre is a really important initiative for the 1851 Trust as it allows us to show students how exciting the world of STEM can be.
“As the America’s Cup in May is fast approaching, the excitement for the British Land Rover BAR team is growing – and we hope the visits to the Tech Deck will help young people relate to the challenges the team face, and see the types of exciting careers that could be open to them if they choose to pursue STEM subjects.”
As a follow up students will be putting the theory into practice when they go sailing with the UKSA in May.
For details of the Tech Deck visit the Website.
