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Inspiring careers in Engineering
On 30th June we attended the Big Bang Fair South East, an interactive engineering and science event for 9-19 year olds. The event offers exciting engineering workshops, hands-on activities and science shows, all aimed at inspiring children to consider the varied opportunities and careers that studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects can open up to them.
7,000 children attended the event at the South of England Showground and we were there to demonstrate to them, the strength of adhesive tape as well as the range of other functions it can perform.
On our stand we had a 3M VHB™ ‘jump box’, consisting of a wooden frame with two Perspex parts on top, bonded together with VHB™ tape. Children were invited to come and jump on to the box to test the strength of the tape, some being unsure whether their weight could be held and others enthusiastically jumping on to test our claims. All were amazed that a piece of tape could be so strong.
We also shared 3M’s VHB™ ‘pull tabs’, a small sample of VHB™ tape with a tabbed liner for attempting to pull the product apart. The children took to this challenge with great enthusiasm and, again, were amazed that the product was so strong.
Other activities included demonstrating how tapes can bond to a variety of surfaces, such as plastic, metal, wood and foam. We explained how there are certain tapes that will work very well on some surfaces and not so well on others.
We also explained how tapes have many other functions, such as invisible joining, shielding, protecting and conducting. We used a gong to demonstrate how a tape can absorb vibration and sound by simply applying a strip of damping foil tape to the back of it. Great fun was had making as much noise as possible!
We had a very busy stand, visited by many children keen to see what we were sharing. We hope that we have inspired them to think about the way tapes can enhance the performance of the everyday things around us.
