Ore Projects Design Workshop

LAET recently hosted the first phase of a collaboration with Ore Projects. Before heading to the workshop in Hertfordshire later this month to fabricate a large-scale kinetic sculpture, a group of female Year 12 Physics and Art students gathered after school on 3 June to kick off the design phase.

This initial session focused on bridging the gap between textbook physics and practical art. Guided by the Ore Projects team, the students applied their knowledge of forces, mechanics, and materials to draft the blueprints for the moving sculpture.

Ore Projects is an organisation dedicated to introducing young people, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to metalworking, welding, and structural design. Their mission is to demystify technical crafts and open up career pathways in engineering, architecture, and public art through hands-on experience.

LAET is part of a broader network of schools and youth groups that Ore Projects partners with across London and the Southeast. Their work focusses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) integration, which combines STEM subjects with the Arts to show the real-world application of classroom learning. They achieve this by running workshops that teach the basics of welding, metal safety, and tool handling, while connecting students with industry professionals and introducing them to apprenticeships in fabrication and engineering.

With the concepts finalised and the maths checked during this first workshop, these young women are now prepared for the next step. Later this month, they will travel to the Ore Projects workshop in Much Hadham to learn how to weld and bring their design to life.