Massey University Visit

A morning at University! On 7th June fourteen lucky kids went to Massey University School of Engineering. As soon as they walked in the door they were surrounded by the most amazing contraptions, and university students busily working on new ideas. A classroom had been set up for the kids and they each had an interesting bag of laser-cut pieces in front of them. A puzzle to solve! Tanisha was the guide for the morning - she's a PhD student and she works with a metal 3D printer. Tanisha showed the kids how to put the laser cut pieces together to make a 3D model of a dune buggy. She also showed them some amazing creations that have been 3D printed - even a mesh ball that has other balls trapped inside it - all 3D printed at the same time. Mindblowing!

Next a tour of the facilities was on offer. Did you know that Massey University has many different types of 3D printers. Tanisha explained how some of them work and kids got to see the powder bed printer, and the metal printer, among others. Everywhere they walked they were surrounded by examples of experimental technology - projects and models that students had made. There was so much to take in.

A highlight for some was seeing the large robotic arm designed to move things in manufacturing. Some university students came to explain to us about the amazing models. One machine is a robotic coffee maker, with an arm to pick up and pass the coffee! There were models of tiny delicately printed items, and a wide variety of models of all sizes and materials, right up to the large flying machine model that spanned the building above the workspaces.

At the end children even received their own Massey University pens, rulers and protractors - made and printed on the University machines!

Thank you Massey University School of Engineering for being so accomodating and sharing just some of the amazing possibilities that are out there. It is inspiring to see the problem solving and designing that goes in to creating the ideas that Massey University students have come up with. Our budding engineers had a great time solving problems and this will surely spark many more ideas for them as they see the vast range of ideas out there.