IT Sligo and Abbott Launch First Engineering Fair for the Northwest

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IT Sligo, together with healthcare leader Abbott, have announced that they are to host the Northwest region’s first Engineering Fair. The family friendly fair will be held in the Institute of Technology Sligo on Sunday the 3rd March from 12 – 5.00pm and admission is free.

The event,which is being run as part of Engineers Week in conjunction with Science Foundation Ireland and Engineers Ireland, will include a wide range of performances, interactive displays, workshops and demonstrations for all the family to enjoy.

Speaking at the launch, Conor Murphy, site director of Abbott’s diagnostics business in Sligo, said, “Abbott has been working together with IT Sligo to support Engineers Week for more than a decade. Engineering is critically important for our work to create breakthrough inventions that tackle some of healthcare’s greatest challenges. By showcasing the many real-world applications of engineering in a fun and engaging way, we hope to inspire a passion in young people to become tomorrow’s engineering leaders.”

Interactive workshops at the Sligo Engineering Fair will include: how to create ice cream without using a freezer, build mechanical art pieces and see how water is treated, as well as develop 2D computer games.  Visitors also will get the opportunity to race mini-drones in a specially designed aerial race course on campus.  You also will get the chance to build hydrogen-powered cars through a hands-on workshop.

Included in the entertaining performances and exciting things to see at the Sligo Engineering Fair will be:

  • Megaphone, who will bring the audience through 300 years of engineering and scientific history through his demonstrator “Sandy the Science Boy.”
  • Visitors will be greeted by a larger than life robot and get to see the iconic Belfast-built Delorean car thanks to Ward Automation.
  • Engineering for Life will demonstrate how engineering affects all aspects and all parts of our lives from before we are born to the day we die.
  • Science Foundation Ireland will be giving a sneak preview of the next industrial revolution in action and demonstrate how 3D printing is transforming manufacturing.

Engineering Lecturer at IT Sligo and Project Leader of the Engineering Fair, Dr. Marion McAfee, encourages everyone to come along to what will be a very enjoyable day out for all the family:

“The Sligo Engineering Fair is an opportunity for children, young people and their families to come along and discover the amazing world of engineering. There also will be fun shows and demonstrations to illustrate how engineering is so crucial to our everyday lives – we are dependent on engineers for everything from clean water to medical devices. We need lots more creative, skilled engineers to tackle all the big challenges in our modern world – everything from food supply to clean air – and we hope that this event will encourage more young people, and especially young women, to think about a future career in engineering.”

For more information about the Sligo Engineering Fair 2019 visit https://www.itsligo.ie/engineeringfair/