Perkins STEM Activities

Welcome to the wonderful world of STEM and engineering at Perkins Engines.

See how we make 1.1-7.1 litre engines with a Virtual Reality tour of our Peterborough factory. Our engines power many different applications from lawn mowers, light towers, and mini excavators to backhoe loaders, wheeled loaders, telehandlers, tractors, grape harvesters, and more.

Robots have a key role in our factory and are programmed to complete various tasks safely and efficiently. Have a go at programming, with some mini robots to see how you can programme them to complete a range of different movements. We even have a robot programmed to solve the Rubik’s Cube!

Learn how an engine works by looking at a real engine with one of our engineers and see a life size 3D printed engine. Our engines power machines, big and small, so enjoy a ride on our Large Wheeled Loader Machine Simulator, which we use to train operators. The wheeled loader provides 373 horsepower and weighs nearly 50 tons.

Our electronics team create the cabin controls for drivers to operate machines. See how they do this with our electronics board and have a go at attaching parts to a cabin in the quickest time possible for the chance to win a prize.

And for even more pure fun have a go at our Virtual reality plank walk. You will need a good head for heights!

Virtual Reality Plank Walk

Wearing a virtual reality headset walk into a lift, travel to the top of a building, walk out of the lift on to a plank with the city surrounding you and the drop below. Do you dare step off the plank?

Virtual Reality Factory Tour

Walk around our factory where we machine engine parts and assemble, paint, and finish our engines ranging from 1.1 to 7.1 litres. Our engines power machines big and small, from lawn mowers and light towers to excavators and wheeled loaders and from generator sets to tractors and combine harvesters.

Robot Rubik Cube solver

Twist the Rubik’s cube put it on to the pre- programmed Robot Rubik Cube solver and watch the robot scan and move the cube using a turntable base and a moving arm to complete the cube in 3 minutes

Small Perkins Cut out Engine.

A small engine with parts removed so we can show you exactly how the engine works inside. Rotate the crank and learn about the four strokes of the diesel engine (Suck-Squeeze-Bang-Blow)

Three-Dimensional Printed Engine

A 3D print of a current production 2.8 litre industrial diesel engine to life-size scale. Understand the use of 3D printing in industry and the potential applications, as well as the machines which the engine powers.

Machine Simulator

Learn how to operate a Wheeled Loader. The simulation requires the driver to load soil in the bucket, transport, and deposit the soil into a truck. The activity teaches coordination, driver control and safe machine operation. The activity lasts about 5 minutes.

Electronics Board

The activity provides a “hands-on” experience with a real Electronics system. Visitors turn the “machine” on and operate the lights and cameras and ask questions to gain a deeper understanding of electronic components and their real-world applications.