‘Crofton for Kids’ Grant Project Celebrated at Crofton Beam Engines During June Steaming

Children from four local schools were celebrated at Crofton Beam Engines on 29th June and Sunday 30th June.

Building a model beam engine

The children, from St Katharine’s C of E Primary School, Great Bedwyn C of E School, Burbage Primary School and Easton Royal Academy, partnered with Crofton in their “Crofton for Kids” grant project to create four unique videos about Crofton for kids.  Each video focuses on a different topic, looking at How the Station Works, Important People throughout the life of the Station, the History of the Station, and the Restoration and Future of the Station.

The videos were premiered at the June Steaming, with over forty children and their families in attendance. The videos will be available in the future on the Crofton website, as well as through the use of QR codes, accessed via a newly commissioned cross-section of the station, to be revealed soon.

In addition, the grant has funded the production of forty sets of buildable working models of the beam engine. The children involved in the project have all taken part in a learning session, where science teacher Nic Allott demonstrated scientific principles related to steam, vacuum and pumping followed by a chance to build the model. These learning sessions will be available
for schools and community groups to book from September 2024.

Whitney Cawley, Learning and Community Engagement Officer, said: “We are so thankful for the wonderful contributions from these four schools and their partnership with us in the project. The children’s videos are engaging and informative, a wonderful asset to have for children to better understand what Crofton does. The children have also loved building the working models, which actually pump water.  They are fun to build and amazing to see in action.”

The ‘New Stories, New Audiences’ Grant is awarded by the Association of Independent Museums and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Crofton Beam Engines near Marlborough has pumped water from Wilton Water into the Kennet and Avon Canal for over 200 years and will next be in steam on Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.