Students at an Isle of Wight school had the opportunity to experience the BAE STEM Roadshow ‘From the depths of the ocean to outer space’ last week.

Supported by British Aerospace in conjunction with the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy, the three-person team presenting from BAE, Kat, Mike and Saffron inspired students in years seven and eight at Christ the King College.

Last week, the team also visited Carisbrooke and Medina Colleges, The Bay CE, Ryde Academy, The Island Free School and Hunnyhill Primary.

The 50-minute show was built around the journey from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the outer limits of our solar system and beyond.

Isle of Wight County Press: The Roadshow was packed full of interactive games, fun facts and figures and a huge inflatable sunThe Roadshow was packed full of interactive games, fun facts and figures and a huge inflatable sun (Image: Claire Rennie/Christ the King College)

Claire Rennie, STEM coordinator at Christ the King College, said: “It was wonderful that so many Isle of Wight children and young people are enjoying these STEM opportunities.

“It opens up so many avenues for them. Who knows where it will lead for each of them in the future.”

One premise of the performance was to consider the engineering challenges and solutions to explore hostile environments like under the ocean or in deep space and how to put humans in these places.

Students learned about the scale of the oceans and examined some fascinating facts – for example, just how much water is there on Earth?

In space, students explored how vast it is and looked at some of the engineering challenges around space travel.

The interactive show allowed students to put their communication skills to the test and other interactive exercises challenged them to see just how much they know about our solar system.

The finale of the show featured a huge sun, which demonstrated how large it is compared to the Earth, leaving students astounded!

Andrew Montrose, headteacher at Christ the King College, said: “I don’t want our students to miss out on what other students get across the county, and although they missed a lesson, the upside is that they learned about the world, and it captured their imagination!

“It gives students an idea of the future that they would not have had. I’m very grateful for Claire and the other staff who helped organise the event.”