Do you fancy your chances in a ‘Formula 1 Tractor’ challenge? Could you beat All-Black Richie McCaw’s 1km time of one minute on a Watt Bike? Can you jump like an elite athlete or handle creepy crawlies calmly?
Visitors to this year’s Ploughing Championships (17th-19th September) will have the opportunity to find these out and more with a visit to the Institute of Technology Carlow tent over the three days of the championships. This year sees the Institute host its biggest-ever stand with a 15square metre marquee located near the NPA office and adjacent to the catering area.
Inside, attendees can experience the fascinating world of agri science, computing and gaming, health science and environmental science courtesy of a team of academics, volunteers – and some VIP guests – from the Carlow and Wexford campus of Institute of Technology Carlow.
“Anyone who visits the IT Carlow marquee at the Ploughing this year can happily while away the time experiencing first-hand fascinating facts and participating in fun challenges across our many disciplines, including Engineering, Science, Computing, Health, Sport and Lifelong Learning across our three campuses of Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow. Our academic staff have worked really hard to bring the worlds of science, agri, engineering, health and computing to life”, said organiser Dr. Karen Hennessy, Head of Wexford Campus.
Visitors will have the opportunity to sit into a Formula 1 car built by IT Carlow’s engineering students, try out gaming students award-winning video games and even test themselves with a tractor racing simulator. The fastest lap will receive a real track day experience at Mondello Park.
The agri/sciences stand is where visitors can learn about grazers from the inside out, meet Rosey the science spider and discover the importance of creepy crawlies and amazing microbes.
“All of our programmes will be represented at the Ploughing Championship across Business, Humanities, Sport, Science, Computing, Engineering and the Wexford Campus and, of course, people will have the opportunity to learn about our courses in agribusiness, aquabusiness and brewing and distilling. We will have a few VIP guests dropping in too so the IT Carlow tent will be buzzing over the three days of the Ploughing Championships”, said Dr. Hennessy.
The Institute of Technology Carlow marquee is located at Block 4, Row 18, No. 395