Glasgow Science Centre will become home to the UK's first Newton Flight Academy.
The morning of Oct 6th, Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, announced the news at the Boeing Innovation Forum.
The Newton Flight Academy is an innovative and interactive classroom used to teach students aviation-related STEM concepts, developed by First Scandinavia with support from the Boeing Company. The first Newton Flight Academy opened in June 2016 in Bodø, Norway.
GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND.
Focus on sustainability
Newton Flight Academy @ Glasgow Science Centre will be a unique suite of learning spaces that will be used to inspire the engineers and scientists of tomorrow, who will lead on the development of the ideas and technologies that will shape the future of a greener and more sustainable aerospace industry.
Experiential learning programs will enable local schoolchildren to engage in real-world challenges by working together with industry professionals and will include the experience of flying in state-of-the-art flight simulators.
VISIT ON OUR STAND. We had the great privilege of having Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland, to fly with us and announce our upcoming Newton Flight Academy @ Glasgow Science Centre. Here with our instructor Axel Storli from FIRST Scandinavia. Photo: Boeing.
Partnering with University
The programs will cover themes including space, biofuels, and advanced materials and manufacturing. These will be delivered in partnership with the University of Strathclyde with links to their engineering programs and involvement from their staff and students.
A changing industry
At the launch, Stephen Breslin, chief executive of Glasgow Science Centre, said: “We are bringing the aviation industry, teachers and pupils together through the Newton Flight Academy.
“We will use the excitement that the simulators and aviation-related themes bring to help pupils develop problem-solving and innovative thinking skills.
Aviation is going to change so much as the industry seeks an alternative, greener fuels. Scotland needs a pipeline of talented, skilled youngsters who can innovate and help engineer the solution - and the Newton Flight Academy is where they’ll be inspired.”
The partnership between the Glasgow Science Centre, First Scandinavia, Boeing, and the University of Strathclyde will help to build Scotland’s innovation pipeline.
Providing great experiences
Managing Director FIRST Scandinavia, Stian Elstad, was also present in Glasgow on the launch and said;
“We are thrilled to launch the first Newton Flight Academy in the UK at the Glasgow Science Centre. The Newton Flight Academy will be a great asset for hands-on education in the region, and an attraction for visitors at the GSC. The team at GSC with their experience, professionalism, and their position as one of the world’s leading science centres, is certainly a solid partner for us going forward.
This is the Newton Concept
The reason we engineered the Newton Concept in the first place was to provide young people with high-quality hands-on education programs, and when enhanced with full-motion flight simulators, I think we will see sparkles in the eyes of many of the students and visitors, Elstad said.
In the Newton Room, students have access to exciting and relevant equipment, and they can explore, discuss, reflect, and collaborate in the STEM subjects.
