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Engineering outreach sessions hosted in Barnsley

Trainee Site Manager Lydia McGuinness recently joined 19 volunteers to take part in several engineering outreach sessions in libraries in Barnsley.

Organised by Steam Works Barnsley, the sessions aimed to inspire people to use the Makerspace area in the new Library @ The Lightbox which is funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Ingenious Award. Makerspace will include specialist engineering equipment such as robotics, Lego, 3D printers, microcontrollers and electronics.

The finished solar nightlights
The finished solar nightlights.
The students enjoyed constructing their solar nightlights.
The students enjoyed constructing their solar nightlights.

At Lydia’s latest session at Mapplewell Library, she showed adults with disabilities how to create an eco-construction solar nightlight using cardboard and recycled materials, and finished by installing a solar panel light. There were some fantastic results, with everyone generating lots of creative design ideas.

So far, Lydia has also hosted two other sessions at Hoyland and Worsborough libraries to a range of audiences, encouraging everyone to think about construction and engineering careers.

The new Library @ Lightbox will be completed later this year and will be a welcoming hub for the community, offering dynamic social spaces for people of all ages.