Eastleigh College recently welcomed the Second Ramalley Girl Guides, based in Chandler’s Ford, to the College to take part in an exciting Engineering taster evening!
The Guides were given an exclusive opportunity to get hands-on with some of the specialist engineering equipment used in the College, including computer-aided design (CAD) software and 3D printers. The College hopes that visits like this will help encourage young girls to aspire to careers in engineering.
The Guides thoroughly enjoyed the visit and were not averse to getting stuck in with the tasks assigned to them! Alice, aged 12, said, “We’ve just been using a machine to melt plastic to make car parts, which I have never done before. Today has been really fun, and you get skills out of it too.”
Lauren, aged 13, said, “I like how girls can prove they can do things that are allegedly supposed to be for men. This evening I learned some metal filing techniques – I’ve done this with acrylic before, but not metal.”
While getting to grips with the engineering equipment, the Girl Guides were able to make a badge with the ‘Girl Guide’ emblem engraved, and also assemble an oscillating engine. All guides were presented with a certificate upon completion of the evening.
Guide Leader, Anne, was pleased that the group was given such an opportunity: “The Guides’ programme is completely varied across arts, the outdoors, first aid, engineering, science… but this is the first time we’ve done something like this. I think it’s brilliant; what we can do in our usual meetings is very limited compared to what the college can offer.
“It’s definitely a good idea for girls to get more involved. Engineering is a term you hear about, but in school you don’t get to see it for real, so you can’t be enthused about something if you don’t know what it is. In school girls can sometimes take a back-seat and shy away, but in a girls-only environment there is nothing to be shy of.”
To find out more about the Engineering courses offered at Eastleigh College, please visit the careers page or call 023 8091 1299.
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