News / Engineering
Helping to find Bristol’s next generation of engineers
A new programme is helping schools across Bristol incorporate art and creativity into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education.
Bristol Music Trust, the charity which runs the Colston Hall, is working with engineering company Renishaw to respond to the need to fill a growing skills shortage through the music and technology initiative Beat Lab.
The Beat Lab programme gives more than 700 pupils each year the opportunity to design and make musical instruments from fruit and vegetables using circuit boards and conductive ink which complete electrical circuits.
Many engineers say that they remember a fun experience early in life that led them to their career choice,” said Richard Brimelow, a Renishaw STEM ambassador,
“The Beat Lab sessions offer this, but also require the children to be creative and apply problem-solving skills.”
The £48.8m redevelopment of the Colston Hall venue will include a new Renishaw-sponsored education room in the venue’s renovated Victorian cellars.
Bristol Music Trust chief executive Louise Mitchell added: “We hope that by providing an enjoyable and creative way for young people to learn about music and STEM topics together, the Beat Lab programme will lead to an increase in the number of students taking music and STEM subjects at GCSE and A level.”
A Beat Lab session in progress
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