“A dream come true!” said Alex, age 11, who saw his engineering idea unveiled as a prototype
Alex, from The Pilgrim School in Rochester submitted his engineering idea to Primary Engineer’s annual UK STEM competition which asks pupils aged 3 –19 the question “If you were an engineer, what would you do?”.
He was recognised as one of the winners in his year group at the South East England award ceremony, one of 25 regional UK events, in 2024.
His creation, The Hummingbird3000, is a miniature green energy factory, featuring wind turbine and solar panels, which could be easily fitted to the wall or roof of a house, producing enough electricity to power a household.
Each year Industry and University partners of Primary Engineer choose a pupil’s idea to build into a Prototype and to be revealed a year later at the regional awards ceremony and Thales selected Alex’s idea to bring to life during the 2024-2025 academic year.
The ProtoTeam said “Working on the Hummingbird 3000 has been both a pleasure and a privilege. Alex presented us with a challenging but engaging design, which tested the team in bringing his idea to life. With Alex so involved throughout the whole project, it was an amazing culmination of 6 months’ work to be able to present the final prototype to him and the rest of the Primary Engineer community.”
The finished prototype was officially unveiled on 18th June at the South East England regional award ceremony hosted at Canterbury Christ Church University. Alex’s family attended the event saying they “will treasure these memories for many years to come”.
Alex, aged 11, speaking highly of the experience said “The incredible opportunity to work with the Thales team has been a privilege I could never have thought I’d get. From the first meetings online to the unveiling at Canterbury this experience has been mind-blowing and exciting. Even having a glimpse of everything Thales does would have been extraordinary but to go inside [visiting Thales in Crawley] and get a close look and even use some of the marvellous technology they use is an occasion I never thought I’d have. Having only seen the prototype in pieces, even the looming figure of the tall structure made me gasp even with a cloth on it. Then seeing the final product of my idea was an actual dream come true. Seeing my idea of a wind-turbine fused with solar panels turn into a genuine machine is a journey I’ll never forget.”
“If you were an Engineer, what would you do” is an annual, national competition free to enter for all 3-19 school pupils. Entries are open now for 2025-2026 and schools can register now at www.leadersaward.com
Primary Engineer Public Exhibitions and Award Ceremonies continue all over the UK through to July, with a total of 18 prototypes being unveiled. Read more about the prototypes: https://leadersaward.com/prototeams/
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Editors Notes:
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About Primary Engineer:
Primary Engineer®, since 2005, have developed an engineering curriculum that spans Early Years, Primary, Secondary and Further Education institutions. Its core aims include; the development of children and young people through engagement with engineering, the promotion of engineering careers through inspiring programmes and competitions, the development of engineering skills for teachers and practitioners addressing the inequalities in engineering.
We developed a project-based learning approach to education which enables children and pupils to engage with practical math’s and science alongside creative problem solving and literacy. It has been described as STEM by Stealth® due to the integrated curriculum nature of the programmes which also develop resilience and curiosity.
Strong links to engineers and the industries they work in provides an opportunity for both pupils and teachers to expand their knowledge of careers, career paths and opportunities.