More than 200 local students put on high vis and hard hats for an educational engineering experience at Hammersmith Bridge.
As part of our Bridges4Schools project, the primary school pupils stepped into our world-leading engineers' shoes to construct and cross a 13-metre bridge. They also battled to build the strongest model bridge out of construction toys.
"I really enjoyed working with my team because we built a bridge that we can actually walk on," said Sadie from St John's CE primary in Hammersmith.
"The activity was very fun to do with my friends and I loved building a bridge," classmate Francisco added.
"The children had lots of fun," said St John's teacher Emmie Callus. "They've been really engaged and used some great teamwork to create the bridge."
The following schools took part in the engineering challenges:
- St Peter's CE primary, W6
- St John's Walham Green CE primary, SW6
- St Stephen's CE primary, W12
- St Mary's Catholic primary, W14
- Bute House preparatory school, W6.
Check out the photos of St Peter's CE primary pupils taking part in the programme on our Flickr.
The day was part of our Bridges4Schools programme that has inspired students across the borough from Year Two to university level – totalling more than 800 local students so far.
Tomorrow is made here
Like real engineering and construction crews, students dressed in safety equipment including hard hats, high vis vests and gloves and were assigned roles in small teams.
Together, they assembled the impressive 13-metre bridge section by section. Each student then eagerly tested the newly built bridge by walking across their collaborative creation.
Cllr Alex Sanderson, Deputy Leader of H&F, said:
Building a borough ready for tomorrow requires getting our young people excited about science, technology, engineering and maths, which is a crucial part of our Upstream London economic growth plan.
We're giving hundreds of our youngest residents the opportunity to learn about engineering through hands-on, interactive experiences. This is part of our commitment to making H&F the best place for kids to find and pursue their passions."
The pupils also tackled another challenge – building model bridges using Lego-like construction toys that could support as heavy a weight as possible.
Bridging the gap
Hammersmith Bridge continues to serve as a valuable educational tool for local students.
Read more about how we've been bridging the gap and getting kids excited about STEM:
- H&F engineers help local pupils bridge the gap to STEM careers
- Hammersmith Bridge is educating a new generation of engineers
- H&F engineers built bridges to STEM careers for local students
- Hammersmith Bridge inspires 600 young engineers of the future
For the latest Hammersmith Bridge updates, visit our Hammersmith Bridge webpage.
