The program will explore the science behind the tunnel, including how it was built underground and its architectural features as well as Brunel’s wider engineering legacy. From craft to tech, through design and science, the Tunnellers Club aims to be a bridge (or should that be a tunnel?) between the young Rotherhithe community and the incredible story of the Thames Tunnel, the first underground tunnel under a navigable river in the world.
The “Tunnellers Club” is open for children aged 7-11 and will be held at the Brunel Museum on a monthly basis, starting on the 13th of November 2022.
Session 1 – Tunnel ABC / In collaboration with Bizzie Bodies CIC
- 13th November 2022
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
How do we build a tunnel and what are the challenges we’re facing in building one?This session will answer to the many questions an engineer would face when approaching the construction of a Tunnel, just like the Brunel family did. With shapes and cut-outs of recycled material, families will build their own tunnel structure, understanding the basics of tunnel engineering.
Book tickets: Tunnellers Club – Session 1: Tunnel ABC – The Brunel Museum – Art Tickets
Session 2 – It’s a 3D Tunnel / In collaboration with Bizzie Bodies CIC
- 11th December 2022
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Opening a conversation around the evolution of engineering and the available tools, in this session families will scan the tunnel structures in order to visualise them in a 3D modelling software. Under professional guidance the structures will be edited on laptops and transferred to 3D printers to bring them to life.
Book tickets: Tunnellers Club – Session 2: It’s a 3D Tunnel – The Brunel Museum – Art Tickets
Session 3 – Virtual Tunnels / In collaboration with Bizzie Bodies CIC
- 15th January 2023
Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Using iPads and a LiDAR software, families will be able to build a virtual world by photographing the space around them and see that on laptops. LiDAR technology, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, generates a 3d model of through the laser scan of real life objects and environments, becoming increasingly common in devices like smartphones, robot vacuums, and self-driving car prototypes.
Book tickets: Tunnellers Club – Session 3: Virtual Tunnels – The Brunel Museum – Art Tickets
The programme is supported by the Royal Society’s Places of Science grant