RAF Lossiemouth’s STEM Team took their rocket car building team to the local Hopeman Gala recently much to the delight of the children, and adults, who visited. The RAF Lossiemouth STEM team were invited to deliver the Bloodhound Rocket Car project at the Gala, giving participants the opportunity to build and race model rocket cars at up to 55mph, learning about physics, maths, engineering and aerodynamics throughout the process.
With trained rocketeers delivering Bloodhound Rocket Car construction and RAF STEM ambassadors facilitating ‘STEM in a Box’ activities and custom stands, there were a variety of challenges for all different abilities.
Image: Cpl Trish James
Flight Lieutenant Martin Mennie leads RAF Lossiemouth’s Bloodhound Rocket Car project team, and was amazed at the enthusiams and skill of the children in Hopeman; he said:
“The Hopeman Gala Science Day was the first rollout of RAF Lossiemouth’s Bloodhound rocket car workshop. All visitors to the RAF stands showed great interest in STEM and the transferable skills to real world scenarios, but the main attraction was definitely the Bloodhound rocket car workshop.
“The RAF Lossiemouth Team, assisted by Moray College and Rolls Royce, facilitated the creation of 48 rocket cars, with races attracting 100+ spectators. As the day progressed, demand outstripped capacity and people queued for an opportunity to be involved, ask questions, or enquire about future events.
“Overall, a rocketing success!”
The Bloodhound Rocket Car project in Moray is a partnership between UHI Moray College, Rolls Royce and RAF Lossiemouth. UHI Moray College act as the Rocket Hub for the area, coordinating all school requests. For community events, RAF Lossiemouth aim to try and facilitate delivery where possible. With close ties within the local community, RAF Lossiemouth personnel actively help shape STEM delivery in the area – be it through delivering activities or assisting partners in developing facilitation skills.
RAF Lossiemouth’s STEM team will be supporting the Royal Air Force’s RAF100 tour at Glasgow Science Centre from 31 August to 3 September, and the Station’s own ‘STEM in the Workplace’ event for 1300 Moray schoolchildren from 18 to 20 September.
