Information on Loughborough

Crowds flock to University's Centenary open day

Posted on 16/06/2009

Loughborough University Website

Crowds flock to University’s Centenary open day

Thousands of people flocked to Loughborough University last weekend for the Centenary Open Day – part of the celebrations to mark a hundred years since the establishment of Loughborough Technical Institute, the University’s predecessor.

Throughout the day, visitors were able to gain an insight into the University and enjoy a variety of arts events, sport taster sessions and hands-on activities.

The ‘Explore Zone’ in the James France Building proved to be very popular with streams of people getting first-hand experience of some of the University’s work, by testing the cleanliness of their hands, measuring their golf swing and testing the aerodynamics of model planes for instance.

In the Students’ Union ‘Fun Zone’, children enjoyed donkey rides and the fun of the fair, while singers and dancers put on dazzling performances. Across the campus families made the most of the top class sports coaching on offer in netball, badminton, swimming and hockey.

The University’s Walled Garden was also filled with people relaxing in the warm afternoon sunshine as they listened to music from the students’ union’s Tuxedo Swing band and fiddler Tom Kitching.

Martha Andrews, who was at the Open Day with her family, said: “It’s been great. First we went to the James France area and saw lots of interesting things, including how you can turn liquid coffee back into a powder. Then we had a look at the Hard Rain exhibition and I picked up some energy-saving light bulbs from the Big Green Idea Bus. Now we’re just taking a breather and listening to the wonderful music!”

Anne Mumford, who is leading the University’s Centenary programme, said the day was a great success. “It was fantastic to see so many people on the campus enjoying themselves and taking advantage of the activities on offer,” she said. “I hope everyone who came along has learned a bit more about the University and that they’ll now be regular visitors to our future arts events, our open lectures and the sports facilities.”