Engineering
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Discover The R. J. Mitchell Wind Tunnel
Come and have a look in our R. J. Mitchell wind tunnel where we have a long history of exciting aerodynamics tests including working with Aston Martin, Formula One teams and Team GB athletes as well as developing the next generation of unmanned air vehicles, wind turbines and many other interesting projects! On display will be a 50% scale F1 model that is used to help our students understand how wind tunnel experiments are carried out while giving them an insight into how the data can be used to help set up the car for different circuits.
Discover The R. J. Mitchell Wind Tunnel
Try Tribology
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/groups/ncats.page
Tribology is the science and study of Friction, Wear and Lubrication and it affects our everyday life. From moving automobile to flying aircraft and human motion, tribology has a significant impact on how we function. Majority of moving parts, including human body, are affected by friction and wear that needs to be controlled with effective lubrication. Interactive Tribology demonstration equipment will allow you to perform simple scientific experimentation to examine everyday grip, slip and wear. You will increase your understanding of how materials behave, and how friction, wear and lubrication affect our everyday lives. Visit us at https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/groups/ncats.page
Try Tribology
Engineering, Design And Manufacturing Centre (EDMC) Workshops Tour
All ages
Type: Laboratory tour
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/autonomous-systems/about/ecdm-workshop.page
As the main engineering workshop for the School of Engineering, we design and manufacture machined parts for Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research and Enterprise work. Many of the cutting edge machines are being displayed and working. This displays modern manufacturing processes cutting a variety of materials.
Engineering, Design And Manufacturing Centre (EDMC) Workshops Tour
Visualizing Flow With Shadowgraphy
Come and see how the clever use of light and shadow can reveal beautiful details in fluid flows. This is because light bends when it passes through a medium with varying density. In this activity we demonstrate this principle in action!
Visualizing Flow With Shadowgraphy
Table-top Windfarms: Can You Beat The High Score?
You have a piece of land and have purchased a few wind turbines. Your task is to distribute these turbines over your land and generate as much electricity as possible. HINT: Dont just place them in rows!
Table-top Windfarms: Can You Beat The High Score?
Machine Learning With Chomp!
Chomp is a table-top demonstration of machine learning with no maths, no jargon, and not even any computers. Participants play a simple game against a machine made of plastic boxes, which over the course of a day will learn good strategies. Chomp was debuted at the Bringing Research to Life Roadshow in 2018, and was the recipient of the People's Choice award at the 2018 Doctoral Research Showcase. Chomp is supported by the CDT NGCM.
Machine Learning With Chomp!
Virtual Wind Tunnel
Come and build a LEGO model and test it out in our virtual wind tunnel.
Virtual Wind Tunnel
The Science Of Ships
All ages
Type: Laboratory tour
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/facilities/towing-tank.page
Come and see a ship model operating in real waves. See how multiple waves interact with each other to form an extreme (rogue) wave. The 138m Boldrewood tank provides an environment for testing ships, boats and yachts at model scale. The wave makers can provide a variety of realistic sea-states to help assess the performance and safety of vessel design. In addition, take part in hands-on activities to understand why ships float and what makes them capsize? How much cargo can you get into a boat before it sinks? What can you do to prevent the ship from capsizing?
The Science Of Ships
Seeing The Invisible: How Wings Work
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
What holds an aeroplane up and keeps an F1 car on track? Get hands-on with how researchers use lasers and special particles to see the invisible flow currents around wings and learn how they keep aeroplanes in the air and help race cars take the best line.
Seeing The Invisible: How Wings Work
High Speed Railways: Can You Optimise Their Earthworks?
This demonstration will highlight how civil engineers design infrastructure such as High Speed Railways. Visitors will have a chance to build their own model embankment using a range of miniaturised construction techniques. Who will build the highest stable embankment and how will they do it? We will show how smart construction ideas can make a stable support for High Speed Rail while minimising the land take and environmental disturbance. Staff who teach and research on railway construction and maintenance will be on hand, to talk about how civil engineering keeps our railways running.
High Speed Railways: Can You Optimise Their Earthworks?
Discover how our research at the University of Southampton is improving the speed and reliability of the railway by creating long lasting, quiet, affordable track.
High Speed Railways: Can You Optimise Their Earthworks?
Mars Bar Bridge Building Challenge
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
How many Mars Bars can your bridge carry? Build a bridge out of 4 pieces of A4 paper and 1m of cellotape to span a 45cm gap between two desks. Test your design to failure by loading it with Mars Bars until it fails!
Mars Bar Bridge Building Challenge
Acoustic Chamber Tours
All ages
Type: Laboratory tour
Advisory notice – this event contains the following elements:
Loud Sounds
Enclosed Spaces
Experience the bizarre feeling of stepping into a room with no echo and a room with thousands of echoes. Play with some noisy toys and see if you can understand how each produces sound.
Tour Of The ISVR Acoustic Chambers
All ages
Type(s):
- Science and Engineering Day
- Southampton Digital Sound Fest
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/research/centres/isvr.page
https://twitter.com/ISVRsouthampton
In this video, we take you on a tour of some of the facilities at the Institute of Sound & Vibration Research (ISVR), at the University of Southampton, UK.
Follow us as we show you our full anechoic chamber, the quietest room in the UK, and the reverberation chamber, a room where echoes can last up to 14 seconds!
We'll also show you our Audio Lab, where we can create any acoustic environment, to transport you to different acoustic spaces, as well as creating more immersive listening experiences.
Acoustic Chamber Tours
Invent Plus Engineering Experience: Rubber Band Cars And Electronics Boards
Try out your Engineering skills and creativity with our Invent Plus challenges! We are presenting two of our projects which we run in schools throughout Southampton for the young future generation of Engineers: the rubber band car and electronics circuits board. Come talk to our group of Engineering students and find out if you have what it takes to be an Engineer.
Invent Plus Engineering Experience: Rubber Band Cars And Electronics Boards
Beach Plastic Collector - From A Primary Engineer Leaders Award Concept
All ages
Type: Interactive exhibit
Digital Event only.
Beach Plastic Collector - From A Primary Engineer Leaders Award Concept
The Beach Plastic Collector prototype is a students inspired project by a Primary Engineer Leaders Award concept.
The Primary Engineer Leaders Award asks primary school pupils to sketch and explain a concept to solve a problem, responding to 'If you were an Engineer, what would you do?' Regional universities select a concept to build and winners receive trophies alongside a regional exhibition of all shortlisted entries - for the Southern Region at the University of Southampton: https://leadersaward.com/about/
Inspired by a Primary Engineer Leaders Award entry proposing a concept for collecting and recycling waste plastic, final year undergraduate students developed a design for a Beach Plastic Collector and built a prototype. The design is innovative in collecting and separating by floatation, the small bits of plastic (microplastics), which float onto our beaches.
The University of Southampton's School of Engineering offers undergraduates the chance to develop and present designs from a concept chosen from Primary Engineer Leaders Award entries in the Southern Region. Previous projects include a Fun Noisy Rubbish Bin and a Super Hearing Set, presented to visitors at the Southern Region Primary Engineer Award exhibition and at the SOTSEF Science and Engineering Day: https://leadersaward.com/universities/university-of-southampton-team-proto/
