Spark Engineering Festival to return to Lincoln Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral will be decorated with jumbo jets, Formula One cars and a giant hanging pendulum as the Spark Engineering Festival makes a dynamic return to the city.

The festival, which is free to enter, is a three-day celebration of the city’s engineering past, present and future. It will run from Friday, April 17 until Sunday, April 19.

Discover facts about Lincoln’s engineering heritage, find out about Lincolnshire’s great engineers, and see the diverse exhibition of Lincoln’s leading edge engineering and manufacturing sector – against the backdrop of historic Lincoln Cathedral.

Products made in Lincoln and Lincolnshire are used in planes, trains and automobiles around the world, with companies including Siemens, Dynex and Micrometric choosing to base their operations in the city.

Paul Taylor, CEO of Dynex and Festival Chairman, said: “This is a great opportunity to find out more about what Lincolnshire has to offer.

“A lot of people know that Lincoln has a rich past in engineering, but not as many people realise the city and county are still at the forefront of developments in science, maths and technology.

“Spark Engineering Festival pays tribute to the history and heritage of the city, but it also looks forward to what is happening here now – the cutting edge technology being developed right on our doorstep. It’s all about engineering, education and enjoyment.”

William Foster 1913 steam engine at the festival in 2013

City of Lincoln Council is working with the University of Lincoln, the University Technical College, Lincoln College and a range of local engineering firms to run the event.

Hands-on activities will include a scaletrix challenge, building wind turbines using K’Nex and testing propellers in a wind tunnel.

Alongside the giant pendulum hanging from the cathedral roof, other displays will include racing cars, a steam engine, model tank and 3D printing.

Visitors can also see the engineering timeline – a 50ft long display of the history of engineering, how it has impacted the world and how Lincoln has had a vital part in its heritage.

The University of Lincoln will be contributing a range of displays and activities as part of this year’s Spark Engineering Festival.

The main displays will focus on current research projects, detailing the School of Engineering’s work on power generation, systems control, automotive dynamics and manufacturing technologies for the food industry.

Dr Colin Dowding, senior lecturer at the University’s School of Engineering, has created a number of hands-on activities that will show young people the fundamental physical relationships that affect our everyday lives.

On Friday, April 17  schoolchildren can take part in a special session as part of the STEM activity day.

Dr Dowding said: “The Spark Engineering Festival has been developed to showcase the engineering expertise in Lincolnshire and to inspire the next generation to pursue a career in the engineering sector, contributing to a more efficient and exciting society.

“The School of Engineering offers a wide breadth of expertise and the University continues to build an academic community to help inform industry and develop new avenues of research.”