Bechtel, a global leader in engineering, procurement, and construction, has joined forces with the Science Museum Group to encourage young people to take up careers in engineering and technology. The partnership will run through 2018, which is the Year of Engineering in the UK, a government-led campaign to support the engineering profession in inspiring the next generation of engineers.
“Bechtel is passionate about inspiring young people to follow careers in engineering,” said Paul Gibbs, Bechtel’s UK Managing Director. “We recognize the key role that the Science Museum Group plays in promoting STEM careers to young people and we are delighted to take on that challenge together with them. This partnership, and initiatives like the 3D film Dream Big, help the next generation to understand the extraordinary careers in engineering that are open to them, and the positive impact that engineering can have on people’s lives, the environment, economies and communities.”
“The Science Museum Group is uniquely placed to inspire thousands of young people with the wonders of engineering,” said Toby Parkin, Science Museum’s Head of Learning. “We are grateful for Bechtel’s support, which will allow us to showcase, to a nationwide audience, the opportunities within engineering and help tackle the challenges this sector faces.”
The partnership focuses on the extension of the museum’s successful Engineer Your Future exhibition which uses interactive games to give young people the opportunity to find out what it takes to be an engineer. It will also support the museum’s learning program for school students and their families, covering the Science Museum in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, and the National Railway Museum in York.
At the Science Museum, the Engineer Your Future exhibition has been a great success. It received 900,000 visitors in the first 21-months against a target of 560,000. One of the digital games in the exhibition – Rugged Rovers – was created as an app and has been downloaded over 800,000 times with many millions of plays.
The Bechtel-sponsored 3D film, Dream Big: Engineering Our World, which celebrates the ingenuity and innovation behind major feats of engineering, will be screened at the Science Museum and National Science and Media Museum’s IMAX theatres over the course of the partnership.
The partnership is Bechtel’s latest initiative to promote STEM careers to young people in the U.K. In June, Bechtel, The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and the University of Bath hosted the first international open final of FIRST® LEGO® League, a global robotics competition designed to encourage schoolchildren to take up careers in engineering and technology. More than 700 children, aged 9 to16-years, representing 36 countries worldwide took part.
About the Science Museum Group:
The Science Museum Group is the world’s leading alliance of science museums, welcoming over five million visitors each year to five sites: the Science Museum in London; the National Railway Museum in York; the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester; the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford; and Locomotion in Shildon. We share the stories of innovations and people that shaped our world and are transforming the future, constantly reinterpreting our astonishingly diverse collection of 7.3 million items spanning science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. Standout objects include the record-breaking locomotive Flying Scotsman, Richard Arkwright’s textile machinery, Alan Turing’s Pilot ACE computer and the earliest surviving recording of British television. Our mission is to inspire futures - igniting curiosity among people of all ages and backgrounds. Each year, our museums attract more than 600,000 visits by education groups, while our touring exhibition programme brings our creativity and scholarship to audiences across the globe. More information can be found at group.sciencemuseum.org.uk
