Schoolchildren enjoy trying to Defeat SPECTRA at London and South East Big Bang Fair

Undergraduate and postgraduate students together with staff from The School of Engineering and Digital Arts (EDA) recently attended the London and South East Big Bang in Crawley on July 5th to promote design and engineering to young people aged 9-19.
This was one of a series of regional Big Bangs that feed into the national Big Bang in March 2013 and gives young people the chance to experience the fun of science and engineering through a variety of exciting, hands-on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) based activities. The regional Big Bang included live, interactive events that offered 2000 local pupils the opportunity to experience learning outside the classroom in a fun and inspirational way. The exhibition also allowed young people to celebrate their STEM achievements through competitions and award schemes such as CREST (a project based awards scheme for STEM subjects) and Young Engineers.
EDA took their innovative Defeat SPECTRA exhibit to the event whereby young people were challenged to use the Electromagnetic Spectrum to try and crack a secret code using technology. Students found clues in infrared and ultraviolet light and attempted to deactivate the SPECTRA computer with microwaves and radio control before the evil organisation could take over the world. Pupils worked in pairs against the clock – understanding how to see in the dark, read invisible ink and look into sealed rooms.
EDA is looking forward to exhibiting and inspiring young engineers at the national Big Bang at London ExCel on 14-16 March 2013 as confirmed by Dr John Batchelor: “People of all ages love pitching themselves against SPECTRA and it’s always great to see how much young people enjoy applying science to solve problems”.