An exhibition organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers in the North East, alongside mechanical and electrical engineering institutions, and targeted at inspiring future generations of engineers has been hailed a huge success after welcoming more than 30,000 visitors.
The Great North Engineering Experience (GNEE), which ran alongside the Great Exhibition of the North this summer, has offered people the chance to discover how engineers transform the world we live in.
The exhibition, which was based at the Mining Institute in Newcastle and finished on Sunday (September 9), featured 12 of the region’s ‘invisible superheroes’ - people who work behind the scenes in the North of England’s engineering industry to ensure we have transport, roads, energy, water, waste disposal and buildings to live, work and play in.
It offered a range of fun hands-on activities for children including Lego and Meccano challenges, a giant Jenga tower, Raspberry Pi games and touch screen televisions, along with a series of talks and family-friendly lectures, displays by Northern engineering companies, and an opportunity to find out about careers in engineering.
ICE North East director, Penny Marshall, said: “We are delighted with how successful the Great North Engineering Experience has been. The volume of people we have had through the doors is testament to the amount of work that has gone on behind the scenes by our valued volunteers.
“We have received excellent feedback from our visitors, and it has been a fantastic way to engage with the younger generations to help inspire them to become the future engineers.”