IOM3 gets up to speed

Showcasing STEM careers to the young people of South Yorkshire.

Inspiring the next generation at GUTS ‘Get up to Speed’ STEM Showcase in Sheffield

Representing IOM3 on the stand was Education & Outreach Executive Jasneet Kaur, joined by Peter Morgan, Annabel Lau and Steve Pagden from SMEA.

On 18 March 2026, I headed to the Get Up to Speed (GUTS) event in Sheffield alongside the Sheffield Metallurgical & Engineering Association (SMEA). We spent the day talking with students, educators and families, and it turned into a successful event with more than 6,000 people attending!

If you haven’t heard of GUTS before, it’s an annual STEM showcase all about inspiring people to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and maths. It’s been running for over 15 years and brings together a wide mix of organisations from both industry and education, including McLaren and the Royal Air Force.

The Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield was the perfect spot for this event. Sheffield’s industrial and materials heritage made it the ideal location. The city has played a significant role in the development of modern materials, most notably through the invention of stainless steel.

 

Throughout the day, we engaged with many secondary school students from far and wide. We took our trusty Discovery Box along and sparked conversations about materials science using the amazing artefacts it contains. The different materials on our stand really helped capture their interest, as Peter Morgan noted: 'It gives SMEA excellent exposure to get our message across about the outstanding opportunities in materials science and engineering. Our hands-on activities with practical examples from our Materials Discovery Boxes create a lot of interest from the young people and also teachers and parents. We need 3 or 4 staff on our stand each day to be able to engage with as many young minds as possible. They create a high level of energy and engagement, and it is a 'full on' day.'

The IOM3 Discovery boxes were great at keeping everyone engaged and making every single conversation at our stand a unique one. Annabel Lau shared: 'The IOM3 outreach boxes played a massive part in engaging with the students and teachers. They were able to touch and compare materials to each other, evoking questions and starting conversation about where materials could be used and why. It would be great to see these being brought into schools as packs, so that students can get hands-on, and teachers can have real world examples.' Watch this space Annabel, we’re currently preparing our Discovery Boxes for a big re-launch! 

We were also visited by the Master and Mistress of the Cutlers of Hallamshire and we got to explain all the fantastic ways SMEA promotes materials science in Sheffield.

SMEA continues to play a key role in engagement activities, delivering a range of events throughout the year to support education and industry in South Yorkshire. SMEA are already excited and looking forward to the next GUTS event in 2027.

Events such as GUTS are so important in raising awareness of materials, minerals and mining. My highlight was meeting and chatting with people at the event. It felt like we were firing up curiosity and opening minds to the exciting world of materials.

I look forward to the next event where we can showcase our incredible materials and talk all about the field of materials science. If you’re planning a STEM showcase event and would us to be involved, please email education@iom3.org.

Are you an IOM3 School Affiliate Subscriber interested in borrowing a Materials Discovery Box for your classroom? Find out more here.