Buxton Museum and Art Gallery recently hosted their first family construction day, with the support of Derbyshire Education Business Partnership (DEBP), and attracted over 500 people from across Derbyshire. The event coincided with National Science and Engineering Week 2010 - and also formed part of a new bridges exhibition that will open in April. It allowed children of all ages to explore and create their own models using the range of construction activities provided by the museum and DEBP.  

While the overall theme was based upon bridges, the children had great fun making a wide variety of models and toys from a range of popular construction systems.  Some made intricately complex structures from paper, and others built large suspension bridges and giant tetrahedrons from canes and rubber bands.   Ed Byrne, one of Derbyshire’s STEM Ambassadors also provided expert advice on the day about what it is like to have a career in the STEM industry. Dr Bill Longshaw, who runs the Enlightenment! programme, said, "Today's event has been a great success for us. Enlightenment! is all about inspirational inventions in Derbyshire in the 18th and 19th Century - hence our bridges exhibition in April. It is good to see the spirit of enquiry alive and well in the county today!”   

Lawrie Peck, DEBP Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) manager said “This has been a fantastic opportunity for families to explore some of the basic concepts of the STEM subjects in a fun and relevant way.  We work with many of Derbyshire’s schools to help inspire an interest in these subjects from an early age and events like these are key to getting families involved.”

Guest blogger: Derbyshire Education Business Partnership