Inspiring the next generation of engineers

10/09/2024

We are proud to be the first company to back a new fundraising drive initiative by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, to sponsor a week of running costs at Enginuity museum.

Our sponsorship gift is part of our commitment to growing our own talent by getting more young people interested in a career in industry.  We’re looking to follow this up by holding a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) event later in 2024. Additionally, we also sent three of our engineers to the museum to help curators repair and maintain some of their most popular interactives.

Nick Darrall, our Managing Director commented:

Supporting the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in the launch of their new Gift a Day initiative gives us a great sense of pride. We are so lucky to have these wonderful museums on our doorstep. I have visited them many times with my own son, and he’s always excited and inspired by his visits.

He continued:

It’s great to support Enginuity in particular, as their philosophy fits closely with our own in developing young and emerging talent, being the engineers of the future.  We encourage other organisations to get onboard with the Gift a Day initiative, which will help the charity raise vital funds to run its museums. Providing this educational and fun space for the budding engineers of the future is seen by iconsys as both a business and social imperative.

With the Gift a Day initiative the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust invites companies, community groups or individuals to choose a special day of the year on which they will sponsor the Trust’s education and conservation activities, covering their costs for that entire day. They can also choose to fund a specific museum for a day or week, as iconsys has chosen to.

Zoe Baxter, Major Donor and Partnerships Executive at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said:

We are incredibly grateful to Nick and his team for their generous support of our Gift a Day initiative and the time and expertise of their engineers. Iconsys’ support will help us to continue delivering enriching educational opportunities and hands-on activities at Enginuity and demonstrates the vital role local businesses play in keeping our museums fun and engaging for visitors.

All supporters make a unique contribution to the history of the Ironbridge Gorge, helping the Trust to conserve the Gorge’s heritage and inspire future generations.

Each day it costs the Trust, an education and heritage conservation charity, £15,000 to run their ten museums. This includes conserving and restoring their collections and delivering their education and learning programmes, from maintaining the ambient temperature required to preserve a precious item in its collections to delivering hands-on learning educational workshops to inspire children.

The Trust collection consists of 400,000 objects, and the entire collection has been Designated by Arts Council England in recognition of its National Importance. In 2023 337,000 visitors attended the museums and over 26,000 children and teachers came on an education visit.

Companies or individuals that wish to know more about the initiative can go to the Trust’s website: www.ironbridge.org.uk/about-us/support-us/gift-a-day/