Passing on the fire

The steelbusters consist of three R&D employees of the voestalpine Steel Division. On 26 August 2013, in the course of the KinderUniSteyr, Peter Reisinger, Josef Faderl and Markus Sonnleitner will be taking children, aged between 9 and 13 years, on a fascinating journey through the world of metals.

Their relation to Steyr (place of residence and school) is only one of the reasons for the three gentlemen to hold this seminar. The steelbusters burn with enthusiasm for their profession and for steel. And they want to pass on this fire to interested young people. The KinderUniSteyr is the ideal occasion to arouse interest in the material steel.

Density, thermal conductivity, atoms and the formation of crystals, deformation and strength are just a few of the topics in the seminar. The steelbusters will deal with them in an easily comprehensible manner.

It will be a performance filled with smoke, splutter and blaze. There also will be a mini crash simulator to demonstrate the capabilities of state-of-the-art steels. A blast furnace model, on loan from voestalpine Stahlwelt, and impressive films will give the children an understanding of the steelmaking process. Between experiments the knowledge will be deepened in fun game rounds modeled on the game show Runaround.

The event has already aroused great interest. As the first 20 places were booked in no time, the KinderUniSteyr proposed to increase the group size from 20 to 30. Needless to say, this proposal was accepted. The more children burn with enthusiasm, the better.

The voestalpine Steel Division not only sponsors the KinderUniSteyr, but also supports the involvement of the steelbusters, as this is an investment in the future.

"It is essential that we infuse our children with the joy of learning and getting to the bottom of something. We can expand the horizons of our children by exciting and nurturing their natural curiosity for knowledge. Besides, in my opinion education is the biggest or maybe the only chance for Austria in the future. That is why we are happy to support the KinderUniSteyr with this seminar. Maybe some of the participants will discover a new interest or talent for their future." Peter Schwab, Director of Research and Development at voestalpine