On 22nd September, The IET is opening its doors for the annual Open House Event.

The IET is also hosting a day of interactive sessions and film screenings, inspired by women's acheivements in engineering and in celebration of the centenary of the first women to get the vote . Home to the archive of the Women's Engineering Society - see how the women's suffrage movement linked with women accessing non traditional jobs- past and present".

Curated by Dawn Bonfield, Karen Livesey & Jo Wiser of CONCRETE HISTORY

The workshop, Amy's Planes! starts at 12 , ends 2 pm, book to reserve a place, drop in also possible.

Amy's Planes! - led by Jenny Lockyer, in conjunction with Karen & Jo.

Suitable for all ages, aimed at women interested in engineering, please feel free to invite others.

Amy Johnson was the second woman in the world to qualify as a ground engineer and then in 1930 the first woman to fly solo to Australia. In the lead up to her record breaking flight to Australia Amy had forged herself a qualification in ground engineering and achieved her goal of becoming a pilot who could look after her own plane. Her record breaking flight would see her fly a de Havilland Gipsy Moth aeroplane called 'Jason' some 10,000 miles from England to Australia. As Amy continued to fly as a career she encountered many different types of aircraft especially with her work with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in the Second World War.

The workshop will be facilitated by Jason, Amy's beloved Gipsy Moth aeroplane, and the women welders of Waterloo Bridge. Participants will learn about the principles of aerodynamics, and create their own 'Amy's Planes' fact file inspired by a some of the aeroplanes that Amy and her female colleagues flew in their time working for the ATA including Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers. The workshop will reference how suffrage was inextrably linked to women entering into fields such as engineering and construction that were previously seen as the preserve of men.

Participants can also create their own paper planes from scratch or kit provided. For inspiration you could first visit the London Science Museum and see Amy's beautiful plane, 'Jason' in the flight gallery there.

THE LADIES' BRIDGE : Documentrary screenings ( 30 minutes, several screenings starting at 11.30 am )

Did you know that Waterloo Bridge, directly outside the IET is also known as The Ladies' Bridge because of the huge role Women played in its construction during the Second World War? The Ladies' Bridge Documentary will be screened thoughout the day in the Riverside Room and Director and Producer Karen Livesey and Producer Jo Wiser will be on hand to answer questions.

THE LADIES BRIDGE activites:

12 noon - 2.30 pm

Badge Making, create your own badges inspired by the Ladies Bridge.

In the Frame: don Second World War uniforms and become part of the LADIES' BRDIGE construction team for your own photograph with a panoramic view of the Ladies' Bridge from the roof terrace of the Riverside Room.

You can also find out more about careers in engineering at the Year of Engineering Roadshow stand.