Did you know that there’s a huge shortage of young people attracted to engineering jobs and a lack of diversity in the profession with the workforce being 88% male and 92% white! I remember taking part in a special engineering event many years ago which was trying to encourage more women into the field, so it makes me quite sad that in the last 20 years the situation hasn’t changed much.
However, hopefully things are about to improve! A government initiative called the Year of Engineering aims to shake-up people’s ideas about engineering, inspiring the next generation of innovators, inventors and problem solvers by showing them what engineers actually do.
The Holiday Makers
The Holiday Makers is a fun series of activities and challenges for parents to do with their children ( aged 7-16 ). I am always looking for ideas to keep my kids busy and active so these are perfect for us. My girls love anything creative and crafty so these inventive challenges will defintiely appeal to their inquisitive nature.
There is a new challenge each week with fantastic prizes up for grabs and exciting events and days out across the UK as well. Enter your postcode on the website to find out what’s going on near you.
We love that there’s a journal to download to record all your Holiday Makers progress over the summer as well.
Holiday Makers and the Year of Engineering rather like Science Sparks hope to capture the imagination of a generation of children, showing them that science and engineering knowledge and skills open up a world of opportunities. So make some time, pick a challenge and go for it!
Chain Reaction Challenge
Holiday Makers challenged us to make our own chain reaction. Inspired by their guide on the website, this is what we came up with.
What is a chain reaction?
A chain reaction is a sequence of events where one thing triggers another.
This is also an example of a Rube Goldberg machine
Rube Goldberg machines use the principle of a chain reaction to achieve an end goal. The end goal in the case of our chain reaction is the popping of the balloon. Creating a machine like this is a great way for children to learn about cause and effect, conservation of energy and momentum.
Step 1
The force of air from the fan starts off the chain reaction by knocking over dominoes. The first domino collides with the second knocking that over and so on until the ball is pushed down the ramp.
Step 2
The ball is initially stationary until the force of the last dominoes forces it forwards and down the ramp. The downward slope of the ramp means the ball gains momentum as it travels.
Step 3
The ball pushes a wooden car with a needle attached forward. This is an example of conservation of momentum. Momentum from the ball is transferred to the car, forcing it forwards.
Remember only moving objects have momentum.
Step 4
The needle bursts the balloon.
This part was a little tricky to get working. The first car we tried was too heavy for the ball to push forwards and the second too small.
Experimenting with different objects actually made the process even more fun and the end result very rewarding.
We LOVED creating a chain reaction and can’t wait to design and build more.
If you have a go, remember there’s a fantastic competition on the Holiday Makers website where you can win a sleepover at the Science Museum for you and four friends or tickets to Wonderlab, the IMAX and a Science Museum shop goodie bag.
We’ve always wanted to sleepover at the Science Museum so think it’s an amazing prize!!
How to enter
Simply create your own chain reaction using whatever objects you choose. Make a video of your creation and share on social media by 2nd August including the details below.
• Twitter – Include #TheHolidayMakers, @YoEgovuk and @sciencemusem in the post
• Instagram – Include #TheHolidayMakers, @yearofengineering and @sciencemuseum in the post
• Facebook – Respond to the challenge post on The Year of Engineering Facebook page including #TheHolidayMakers, @yearofengineering and @sciencemuseumlondon
See The Holiday Makers Website for full Terms and Conditions.
Are you ready to start inventing?
Post in collaboration with The Holiday Makers
This is such a cute challenge! I would have definitely taken part part with my niece 🙂
What a fabulous idea! I will definitely keep this in mind so I can keep my son entertained when he turns 7.
wow what a great initiative! teaching kids about science is so important and this makes it fun and engaging it sounds 🙂
I think that activities like this are great because they get everyone thinking! xxx