RAF Halton on the way to 1000 for RAF100
Staff at RAF Halton are well on the way to achieving their target of putting 1000 or more local school children through the Cool Aeronautics activity day as part of the Station’s RAF100 events.
Sponsored by the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM, event, was held at the Trenchard Museum, the James McCudden Flight Heritage Centre, JMFHC, Henderson Mess and the Halton Aero Club at the Airfield.
Children from Years 5 and 6 arrived from Waddesdon Primary School and after being split into four groups, supervised by Station staff, museum volunteers and the Station Youth Activities Liaison Officer, YALO, they were taken through morning and afternoon activities, including a woodwork exercise where they made a model aerodynamic racing car, tackling the flight simulators and learning principles of flight, making a model aircraft, an aerojet and the electronic flying disc project.
Bill McGrath, STEM co-ordinator, said: “Yet again another big thank you for your professional and enthusiastic input to the various STEM activities at our latest Cool Aeronautics event. In addition to the valued support from all our Trenchard Museum and James McCudden Flight Heritage Centre volunteers and those Halton Aircraft Club members involved, I continue to be impressed with the significantsupport provided by the Station.
The output is, I believe, very much reflected in the email I received yesterday afternoon from Michelle Swanson, the lead teacher from Waddesdon Village Primary School.
Mrs Swanson said: “I just wanted to pass on thanks on behalf of myself and the other teachers for such a wonderfully engaging day last week. Your morning sessions were well planned and allowed the children to challenge themselves whilst working practically; this clearly helped with their ability to absorb new information as back at school they were keen to share information about the forces linked to aircraft flight and racing car effectiveness! Many of the children told me that this was the best trip they had ever been on which is praise indeed! Every child, regardless of ability, was motivated and enthusiastic about each task. In the afternoon, the children relished the opportunity to be so close, even inside, the aircraft we visited in the hangers. There has been much conversation about future jobs in the RAF. As a school, this trip coincided brilliantly with ‘National Science Week’, so the children have been hearing about careers linked to science in a broad range of areas.”
One of the children, Charlotte, said: “Today I learned how important the RAF really is. It was a great experience and I learned how to lay a bed and fly a plane. Thank you for taking me.”
