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The Forth Bridges Education Centre

Interactive STEM visits for schools

STEM for Schools

The Contact and Education Centre is a purpose-built facility which served as a focal point for community engagement and education during the construction of the Queensferry Crossing.

The centre is now open for pre-booked school groups and offers a wide range of FREE, fun and engaging STEM activities for primary and secondary school pupils.

Please note that the centre is not open to the public, except for occasional open days and advertised events.

In-person visit to South Queensferry

In person visits for pupils p3 up to s6 are available. The visit at the Centre is free of charge. We do not have access to any funding or grants to assist with travel costs.

We are accepting one day visit per school at the moment to allow as many different schools as possible to access this free opportunity.

For in-person visits at our Centre in South Queensferry please register your interest here: https://forms.office.com/e/FsPPDY0sU8

Online visit DYW Live

If an in-person visit is not possible we provide a fully interactive online session for p5 to s2 pupils lasting 30 – 45 minutes and provide follow on engineering challenges for you to complete with your class afterwards at a time that suits you.

We also have certificates available for pupils once they have completed the engineering challenge. Please see attached and below for further information.

To register your interest in the online sessions please complete the information request form here : https://forms.office.com/e/rtA80wfkdw

What Schools Say

Over 50,000 pupils have had the opportunity to participate in this unique STEM engineering programme since 2014.

Feedback received includes:

“The trip was outstanding and is without doubt the most positively received educational trip I have been on or organised.“

“The pupils were extremely enthused and enjoyed the whole visit. The main benefits to our pupils were:

Enhanced our pupil's knowledge and understanding of maths in real life as well as engineering and bridges in general.
Provided the pupils with the opportunity to apply basic maths skills in real life
Enhanced team building skills, leadership skills, planning and organisational skills, presentation skills as well as our pupils’ confidence and appreciation of maths.”

“These workshops were fantastic and our pupils spoke very highly of the experience.”

“We had a fabulous time and learned a great many things. Aside from technical knowledge, we actually learned a lot about ourselves.”

“The highlight was the engineering challenge - the class haven't stopped talking about it! They really appreciated that they did use all the engineering skills that had been discussed and have been using the same language since returning to school. “

“The field trip on the Forth Road Bridge helped the children get a sense of scale and with the walk being after the workshop, they were able to look out for some of the features they had learned about.”

Fantastic Forth Future Engineers / BEAR Cub Engineer / BEAR Academy

Monday - Friday (August - June)

Looking for an interactive, fun STEM visit?

Would you and your pupils like to find out more about engineering, bridges and how we manage and maintain the trunk road network?

Our engineer-led visits take place in our stunning Contact and Education Centre Exhibition Area in South Queensferry. The Centre provides an excellent learning environment with detailed bridge models, audio-visual resources, interactive learning challenges and spectacular panoramic views of the Forth Bridges and Forth Estuary.

Pupils work collaboratively in teams, developing problem-solving, communication, team-working and organisational skills whilst completing their STEM challenges.

As well as focussing on engineering and bridges, we also cover:

Climate change / Net zero / Carbon Capture
Road Safety
Flooding and management of water
New technology and future of transport including Project CAV Forth (driverless vehicles)

In-Person Primary School Programme (P3-P7)

For groups of 25 + pupils.

Bridges, Forth Bridges and Queensferry Crossing construction topics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Challenges that can be tailored to complement your class topic/project
Classroom activities for after your visit
Classroom on-line sessions with complimentary engineering challenges available for distance learning via Developing the Young Workforce (DYW Live), including outdoor learning activities
Self-led Forth Road Bridge field trip with outdoor learning

In-Person Secondary School Programme (S1- S6)

For groups of 20 - 50 pupils

Bridges, Forth Bridges and Queensferry Crossing topics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Challenges
Tailored subject visits available e.g. maths, technology, geography, engineering science
Classroom on-line sessions with complementary engineering challenges available for distance learning via DYW Live
Forth Road Bridge field trip with outdoor learning

Booking is required.

Single visits - for groups of 20 to 40 pupils last approximately 2 hours 30 minutes within the Centre and the visit can be enhanced by adding a Forth Road Bridge field trip. The field trip is self-led by your own teachers with materials provided by the Centre to enhance the experience and extend learning.

A typical single visit schedule would be:

All arrive at the Centre to view the Exhibition
Presentation and discussion
STEM - Engineering Challenge
Discussion and close
Option to remain in the Centre to have packed lunch (time permitting)
Optional teacher self-led Forth Road Bridge field trip after your session in the Centre

Double visits - for groups of more than 40 pupils last approximately 4 hours 30 minutes and involve both the Forth Road Bridge field trip (self-led by your own teachers) and the STEM – Engineering Workshop within the Centre.

A typical double visit schedule would be:

All arrive at the Centre to view the Exhibition
Presentation and discussion
Half of the group remain in the Centre for their Engineering Workshop whilst the other half are taken on their field trip by teachers
All together for packed lunch at the Centre
Groups swap over activities for the afternoon session
Session discussion and close

Please note that pupils can have their packed lunch within the Exhibition Area if time permits and on the basis of no mess.

Please bring lunch with you as we do not have catering facilities on site.

We look forward to welcoming you to the Centre.

Teachers are responsible for all pupils at all times.

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Location

Contact and Education Centre
Adjacent to Forth Road Bridge Administration Building
South Queensferry
Edinburgh
Scotland
EH30 9SF