February 2011 NUI Galway Host Free Family Events for National Engineers Week

NUI Galway is calling all young wanna-be-engineers to participate in six days of events and activities from 14 to 20 February as part of National Engineer's Week. As part of the line-up, for the second year in a row, NUI Galway will bring a free family-event to the Galway City Museum on Saturday, 19 February from 11 am to 5 pm. Following on from the success of last year's event, this year's Engineering for Communities promises to be a great day out for everyone, with activities on the day to suit all ages. At Engineering for Communities, visitors will be able to take part in hands-on experiments, workshops, and demonstrations. Each activity will explore engineering solutions to different community needs such as bridge building, sustainable housing, medical devices, water treatment and electricity. There will be puppets and a lego-build area especially for the young visitors and a display of antique engineering equipment to make the grown-ups feel at home. Highlights of the event will include a K'Nex Bridge Building Contest, an Eco-House Design Challenge, Electronic Circuitry Demonstrations, and more. Speaking about the event, Dr Colin Brown, Director of the Ryan Institute for Environmental, Marine and Energy Research at NUI Galway, said: "It will be a fun, free, family-friendly day out and will provide insight to just how much engineering affects the way that we live in our homes and communities." He added "From rural Zambia to urban Galway, engineering plays a fundamental role in our day-to-day lives. As we face a low-carbon, high-tech future, engineering solutions are evolving at a very rapid pace. This event is a great opportunity for people of all ages to learn more about these solutions in a very fun and highly interactive way." Engineering for Communities is being organised by the Ryan Institute at NUI Galway with support from GMIT and the Alan Kerins Project. The event is part of National Engineers Week, which aims to showcase the diversity of engineering and to celebrate the role of engineers in Ireland. Other NUI Galway events being hosted during National Engineers Week include primary school workshops by the College of Engineering and Informatics and many school events, seminars and public lectures hosted by the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI). -Ends-