The Brunel Museum has announced it will use funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund to create a new programme in support of young women in engineering.
The project, entitled Sophia’s Story, was inspired by Sophia Brunel, the older sister of civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Once described by Lord Armstrong as “Brunel in petticoats”, she was a promising engineer in her own right.
The project is designed to help girls and young women under the age of 15, both within and outside school settings, to engage with engineering. It has three strands, each targeting different age groups.
As part of the programme, the museum will work with students at Bacon’s College in Rotherhithe to develop a film about women in engineering for inclusion in the museum’s permanent exhibition.
The project is designed to help improve gender representation and access to female role models in engineering careers by delivering sessions tackling gender stereotypes to co-ed schools, with the intention of training boys and young men to recognise and challenge gender bias.
It also aims to encourage young women in the early years of secondary school to consider taking STEM-related GCSEs.