Birmingham engineer Gbenga Oludotun, the principle engineer at Birmingham professional services consultancy WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff, has created a new way of teaching people about the world of engineering.
Oludotun’s creation uses the widely popular online game Minecraft and gives players, in this case children, 20 minutes to devise a bridge, harbour or other structure using a number of Minecraft tools and materials in the given virtual environment.
Oludoton, who is also a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) ambassador for the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), unveiled his showcase at the Big Bang, an annual fair revolving around science, technology and engineering held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Oludoton said “we hope this activity will help children to make the connection between the virtual world, where they use their imagination to design buildings and structures, and inspire them about a potential career in the real world of civil engineering.”
ICE plans to implement the Minecraft activity in West Midlands schools in order to teach pupils about the basic principles of civil engineering.
