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		Composites on Tour

Composites on Tour 2003

From May to July 2003, the EU-developed Composites on Tour mobile exhibition travelled over 3500 miles across Britain. The tour, funded by the EPSRC and organised by the UK Centre for Materials Education (UKCME), was aimed at raising awareness of the uses and properties of composite materials amongst the public, and in particular school children. Showing that engineeringand materials science could be enjoyable as well as interesting!

Based mainly on fibre-reinforced composites, the displays included a futuristic racing bike, an elegant shopping trolley, automotive and racing car parts, aerospace components, as well as a wide range of natural composites. A great favourite with the younger visitors was the wheel rim lift, where people got to compare the difference in weight between an aluminium and composite truck wheel.

Setting off from Liverpool on the 17th May, the tour exhibited at the ten different locations shown below.

Venues Click on Map for info! Glasgow Science Centre RAF Museum Hendon INTECH, Winchester Imperial War Museum, Duxford Earth Centre, Doncaster Satrosphere, Aberdeen Discovery Museum, Newcastle Liverpool, University of Liverpool RAF Museum Cosford Techniquest, Cardiff

A good time was had by all, with comments such as 'cool' and 'wow look at that' from the younger generation and a comment of ‘the composites exhibition was surprisingly interesting’ being passed on from one visitor. Due to the obvious enthusiasm of the school children, parents and teachers, a CD-Rom detailing the properties and applications of composites, including a series of simple experiments, is currently under development at the UKCME. This will be made available in the near future, meanwhile further information can be obtained by visiting www.materials.ac.uk

Last modified: 04/11/2003