Alex Curtis and Raymond Kirk, students at the School of Computer Science, were delighted to receive an invite to visit RAF Metheringham in Lincolnshire.
Alex was contacted by RAF Metheringham after delegates had seen his Lancaster simulation game at the School of Computer Science showcase event in May 2017.
Find out what Alex said about his experience:
“The attendees from RAF Metheringham were intrigued by my project as Metheringham was the home of 106 Squadron, primarily a Lancaster base. Furthermore, 59 Lancaster Bombers were lost from RAF Metheringham and there is a poignant exhibit in the wartime gymnasium to commemorate those aircraft and crews lost.
They had been interested in creating an interactive exhibit, which demonstrates how to perform each of the crew roles: Pilots; Navigator; Flight Engineer; Mid Gunner; Rear Gunner; Bomber Aim and Wireless Operator to educate the public, especially the younger generation. With the aid of an interactive exhibit the education of topics such as Morse keys and RAF crew, roles will become more engaging and interesting for the users.
Myself and fellow student, Raymond Kirk, are currently completing an interactive mirror project for display at the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC). This initially started as a summer project which the School’s Bruce Hargrave facilitated, subsequently introducing us to the IBCC curators. Bruce also helped provide support throughout the project. Since we are close to finishing the IBCC project, we decided to collaborate on new exhibits at Metheringham as we enjoy working together. The skills we’ve learnt whilst studying the Computer Science and Games Computing programmes at the University of Lincoln really complement one another.
When visiting RAF Metheringham, we were shown around the vast array of artefacts and exhibits the site had to offer. We especially enjoyed going inside a Dakota plane and learnt what the plane’s role was during the war and learning how it was made and functioned. We showed Metheringham the prototype mirror we had created for the IBCC and the Lancaster simulation game. They really liked the demonstrations and this was important for us to show, as it allowed Metheringham to see the type of exhibits we can create.
Myself and Raymond are looking at setting up a business to aid our future projects and have been in touch with careers to start the process.”
Find out more about RAF Metheringham online.