THE EARTHQUAKE MACHINE

The Earthquake machine starts with the news on the TV. After a long story about a pig, the news is interrupted to warn of an impending earthquake. The TV picture then breaks up. The radio starts bouncing up and down – a gale blows through the window – the comfy chair starts shaking – and finally the table breaks in two, squashing the cat. 

The purpose of the machine was to encourage kids to take up engineering as a career. Yarmouth college and Placepower  (a local industrial automation company) launched this great scheme in 2008. The 8 kids visited the Under the pier show, and then came up with ideas of their own, eventually settling on the Earthquake simulator. Dean, the managing director of Placepower, with three of his employees, a DT teacher (and occasionally me as well) held sessions every Thursday afternoon for several months, helping the kids make the machine.