Cambridge Festival at IfM

Over 1000 people visit the IfM each year as part of the University's annual Cambridge Festival. These visitors enjoy a host of demos, hands-on activities and talks. The IfM has taken part in the Science Festival since 2010.

You can look back on some of our past talks and activities on our YouTube channel.

Sharman Outreach Fellow

The Sharman Outreach Fellow is generously sponsored by donation from the Sharman family and IfM alumni. The purpose of the fellowship is to coordinate and promote the outreach activities of the IfM, particularly focused on engagement with both primary and secondary school students. The current Sharman Outreach Fellow is Dr Niamh Fox who is excited to oversee the re-emergence of hands-on activities and talks outside of the IfM. If you have any outreach enquiries, please contact Niamh: ndwf2@cam.ac.uk.

Cambridge Festival Schools Program

This year the IfM took part in the first ever Cambridge Festival Schools Program talking to hundreds of primary and secondary students about 'What do engineers do?' and 'How stuff gets made and delivered to you?'.

Tim and Niamh speaking at Cambridge Festival Schools Program 2023.

Image Credit: Jacqueline Garget

Primary Schools Outreach: How does stuff get made?

The Royal Academy of Engineering have awarded a small grant to help fund outreach activities specifically targeted at primary school children. By introducing children to manufacturing and engineering at a younger age, we can prevent misconceptions from forming in the first place. The project aims to provide a platform for teachers and students to share their knowledge so that the outreach activities developed are appropriate and effective for this target audience. 

If you would like to get involved in any way, please contact the Sharman Outreach Fellow.

Home Learning Resources on STEM subjects

The Royal Academy of Engineering has developed a selection of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education activities that can be easily adapted for the home setting. Click here for more information.

The IfM YouTube Channel also has many videos demonstrating home experiments and explanations of exciting new manufacturing processes such as 'What is 3D printing?'.

IfM Colouring Books

The IfM has produced a variety of colouring books based on the research going on withing the IfM. The latest version can be found here. What is your favourite page to colour in? Can you find all the words in the word search? Can you find all the answers to the spot the difference?

Speakers for Schools

As part of the Speakers for Schools organisation, the IfM has been speaking to students for a variety of local schools, discussing life as an engineer, what do engineers actually do and how stuff gets makde and delivered to us.

Tim speaking at St Bede’s Inter-Church School 2023 who rated the talk 5/5