The day itself played out as an interactive story that had the pupils and teachers as the characters. The pupil’s scenario was that they were trapped on a fictional planet, where they had a limited number of supplies to complete activities which would lead to rescue. Each team were presented with a supply bag of materials which were to be used for a morning activity and then were to be re-used for an afternoon activity. The first activity was to design and build a wind-powered vehicle, which was then tested using a simple desk fan to see how far they travelled, with extra points for design creativity. The second activity consisted of creating a “lunar lander”, which was to be dropped from height along with their ping pong ball astronauts. Points were awarded for how many astronauts remained with their lander and how innovative their design was. During the day, the pupils and teachers were also given an opportunity to take a tour inside two iconic aircraft; an AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin. The aircraft and tours were kindly provided by our friends at RNAS Yeovilton. As the day drew to a close, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived. The prize giving! Prizes were presented by Yeovil Mayor David Recardo to the winning team of each activity, along with a special prize for the most enthusiastic and engaged pupil as voted for by the volunteers.
The pupils and teachers who attended were from the following local primary schools:
• St Michael’s Academy • All Saints Church of England Primary School
• Milford Junior School • Ash Church of England Primary School
• Birchfield Community Primary School • Chilthorne Dormer Church School
Observing and participating on the day were several specially invited guests from Leonardo Helicopters that consisted of trainee managers and senior engineering managers. In addition, Nicholas Davis from Royal Aeronautical Society Headquarters attended the day.
Statistics and figures about the day:
• 173 pupils in attendance
• 6 local primary schools present
• 43 volunteers from Leonardo Helicopters and Royal Navy personnel
• 11 school teachers and staff
The lead coordinator of the day, Gareth Davies from the RAeS Yeovil Branch Committee, expressed his gratitude to all those who attended and gave their support with the organisation and running of the event. In particular, he gave his thanks to this year’s Cool Aeronautics Committee Team; Liam Cobb, Will Jennings, Kealey Judd, Darren Williams, and Owen Spencer. A special thank you was also given to Mayor David Recardo, RAeS HQ, the hosts from the Fleet Air Arm Museum, and RNAS Yeovilton.
If you would like to find out more about the Yeovil Cool Aeronautics event, or would like to volunteer at next year’s event, please contact the RAeS Young Person’s Network Representative at:
gareth.davies2@leonardocompany.com
