Technicians from the newly formed Emergency Services Fleet Management (ESFM) team are helping the next generation of engineers at a Hull school design and build an electric car as part of a Green Port Hull initiative with the University of Hull.
ESFM is based at Melton, East Yorkshire and is a joint venture between Humberside Police and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service to share fleet management capabilities across both organisations on one state-of-the-art site.
Staff got involved when contacted by Eastfield Primary School in West Hull to give advice and assistance to year 8 students who were taking part in the Institution of Engineering and Technology's (IET) Greenpower programme.
The IET Formula Goblin project aims to inspire children aged 9 – 11 years old to take an interest in engineering in a fun and innovative way. The project is for children to build their very own functioning and drivable electric car. The kit comes flat packed with step by step instructions guiding the team through the build in an easy to understand manner. The build introduces children to basic mechanics and on completion they can use it at one of the many events around the country!
The build can be integrated in to the curriculum to highlight key areas such as friction, electricity, materials, maths and design technology – whilst being a fun and hands on activity for children to be a part of. The project also encourages parental participation during clubs and event days and many schools are able to gain support from local businesses both practically and financially to help the project in their school or group.
This national project is designed to engage young people with STEM subjects and practical engineering and has been brought to the Humber region thanks to help from the University of Hull, ABP, Hull City Council and East Riding Council working collaboratively as Green Port Hull.
The Greenpower Education Trust’s electric car challenge requires young people, guided by their teachers and an industry mentor, to design, build and then race an electric car.
Pupils at Eastfield Primary, under the team name 'Turbo-tastic', had to present the benefits of working as a team and with local business partners to a 'Dragons' Den' style panel and project lead Andrea Roberts was thrilled when the students' hard work paid off and one of the five cars on offer was awarded to her school. The car is beginning to take shape and the pupils have described involvement in the project as "the best lesson ever!"
Andrea was "grateful for the expert help given by Phil and Josh who have really connected with the pupils and allowed them to flourish". [The five members of the presentation team are pictured above with Phil and Josh from ESFM]
The one golden rule of the initiative is not to tamper with the battery or the motor which has put paid to the students' idea of turbo booster rockets on the side of the car!
Find out more about the project here http://greenpower.co.uk/racing/goblins/
Follow the progress on Twitter @EastfieldPS and @HumbersideFire