Year 8 STEM students had the opportunity to visit the Silverstone Interactive Museum.
The day began with a fascinating curriculum workshop where students learned about the physics, engineering, and materials behind making a Formula 1 car perform at its best and the vast plethora of roles within an F1 team. Inspiring the students to consider engineering as a future career, the session involved handling and discussing genuine artefacts from recently-raced F1 cars, including tyres and wings from Max Verstappen’s car. Students were surprised at how light the items were.
Students heard about the unthinkable costs (£300,000 for one wing and £40,000 for a fuel tank) that go into the making of an F1 car and delved into the safety features incorporated over the years compared to when motor racing first started. They were amazed to see a video of a 1.8-second pitstop! The curious students asked many questions, putting the highly experienced speaker to the test.
Before lunch, there was an opportunity to go out and see the track and hear from the guide volunteer about the track's different areas and some of Silverstone's history. It was cold and breezy, but this did not dampen their enthusiasm to hear more.
To finish the day, students explored the 4000m2 exhibition that took them on an exciting journey through Silverstone and British motorsport's past, present and future. They learnt about the engineering and technology that has changed the world of motorsport in the Technology Lab, and had the opportunity to race their peers on the Museum's new Scaeletrix track. The day concluded with a 4D iMax experience of sitting behind the wheel at an F1 race, racing against some of the greatest drivers of all time.