{"id":11154,"date":"2015-09-26T16:01:46","date_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=11154"},"modified":"2015-09-26T16:01:46","modified_gmt":"2015-09-26T15:01:46","slug":"meccano-bridge-spans-the-clarendon-dock-belfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=11154","title":{"rendered":"Meccano bridge spans the Clarendon dock, Belfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

The worlds largest Meccano structure has been created at the historic Clarendon dock by students and staff from <\/u>Queen\u2019s University Belfast, with local schoolchildren as part of a science, technology engineering and maths (STEM) educational project.<\/u>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Queen\u2019s University Belfast writes:
\n<\/u>Officials from Guinness World Records have confirmed that Queen\u2019s Big Bridge Build \u2013 a bridge spanning almost 100 feet across Belfast\u2019s Clarendon dock \u2013 is the world\u2019s largest Meccano structure.<\/p>\n

The Big Bridge Build, a year-long project, is the brainchild of the University\u2019s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering.\u00a0 Academics and students created the bridge, with the help of local school children, as part of the university\u2019s outreach programme to encourage more children to think about careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).<\/p>\n

Hundreds of people visited Belfast\u2019s Clarendon Dock over the weekend to marvel at the stunning construction as they waited to hear the official announcement of the World Record bid. The project was made possible with the help of Spin Master Corp, the proud owner and producer of Meccano, as well as McLaughlin & Harvey and Aecom who gave valuable advice to the students as well as assisting with the construction and installation of the bridge across the Clarendon Dock.<\/p>\n

The students celebrated their achievement by walking across the bridge for the first time, which was officially declared open by Meccano\u2019s Meccanoid Robot, much to the delight of attending youngsters.<\/p>\n

Speaking about the achievement Danny McPolin, Senior Structures Lecturer at Queen\u2019s School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering, said: \u2018This event has been a fantastic way to celebrate the student and staff\u2019s incredible work over the past year, but also a chance to show local children more about the exciting courses we offer here at the Queen\u2019s University.\u00a0 With a growing skill shortage in Civil engineering, we hope that our work will encourage more children to consider the study of civil engineering and other STEM subjects at University level.\u2019<\/p>\n

Members of the public who attend the event had the opportunity to speak to students and academics, as well as the event sponsors, who were on hand to discuss the bridge build and civil engineering in general. \u00a0Youngsters were also able to create their own Meccano structures in a dedicated Gazebo sponsored by Smyths Toys Superstores.<\/p>\n

Ben Varadi, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Spin Master Corp., said: \u2018We are truly in awe of this remarkable achievement.\u00a0 Spin Master is incredibly proud that this timeless and iconic toy, invented over a 100 years ago, continues to inspire the world\u2019s future architects and engineers.\u2019<\/p>\n

Paul McCormick, Managing Director, Highways & Bridges, EMEA & India at AECOM, commented: \u2018We are proud to have been involved with the Big Bridge Build project and it\u2019s wonderful to seeyoung people getting excited by the fantastic opportunities civil engineering can offer. We hope this event inspires more young people to take up STEM subjects at university level and pursue careers in engineering.\u2019<\/p>\n

John McCarey, Chief Engineer at Civil Engineering contractor McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd added: \u2018It has been a pleasure to work with Queen\u2019s to support these engineers of the future with this exciting project. We have been involved from the start of their world record attempt, providing them with a contractor\u2019s insight and bringing our technical expertise to the very particular challenges of this brilliant third year design project. To gain the World Record is the Icing on the Cake!\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Guinness World Record \u2018Big Bridge Build\u2019 in numbers:<\/p>\n