On Thursday last week, pupils in Years 5 and 6 had a day out of school looking at science and innovation in Nottingham.
In the morning, we visited the ‘Urban Room’ at 38 Carrington Street. Urban Rooms like this one are part of a growing network throughout the UK to provide a dedicated space “where people can go understand, debate and get involved in the past, present and future of where they live, work and play”. 38 Carrington Street is an independent partnership between Nottingham City Council, University of Nottingham, Historic England, Nottingham and Derby Society of Architect and Royal Institute of British Architects. Whilst we were here, we were shown a presentation on the industrial heritage of Nottingham; discussed all the amazing products, innovations and brands that originated in Nottingham; and then went on a walking tour of the city.
In the afternoon, we visited the creative and virtual technologies lab and the 3D printing workshop at Nottingham Trent University.The lab is a multidisciplinary research environment where architects, artists, designers, engineers, computer scientists and human scientists collaborate to explore the potential of new visualisation techniques and digital design models and processes. We explored the cutting-edge technologies found in the lab including: visualisation technologies (augmented reality, mixed reality, virtual reality), tracking systems, human computer interaction systems and audio devices and BIM/3D modelling/rendering software.