Each year The University of Cambridge welcomes over 1000 visitors to the Institute for Manufacturing as part of the annual Cambridge Science Festival with a host of displays, exhibitions and hands on activities guaranteed to amaze and delight both young and old.
This year, the EPSRC Centre in Ultra Precision’s Educational Demonstrator Programme Watch it Made was included as a new activity at the Science Festival.
The students undertaking the MRes in Ultra Precision have been investigating how to design this facility that would satisfy 12 year olds in regards to creating their own watch within a limited time frame. At the Science Festival children of mixed ages had the opportunity to design patterns for iStyle Silicone Slap on Watches and saw the laser engrave their patterns on the watch of their choice. They also saw the components of a watch under the microscope and gained an understanding of how a watch functions and is manufactured. Overall the activity was a success with 50 tickets being reserved within half an hour. Very positive feedback was received from the parents and children.
PhD students undertaking their research within the Centre for Doctoral Training in Ultra Precision also participated and gave talks and demonstrations about ultrafast lasers and focused ion beams.
