16/06/2026
Second Class Trip to Stryker in Cork
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Paula & Orla’s second classes were thrilled recently when they learned of the success of the 3D Printing project that some of the students were involved in. Students from both classes came together to help solve a problem that has become an issue in a number of classrooms. In the original school building of 8 classrooms, there are sliding doors on the storage cupboards and these sliding doors have become stuck and in some cases loose over time due to wear and tear on a specific piece of plastic that kept the doors aligned. This piece of plastic or ‘door runner’ as it came to be known, was hard to find a replacement for. Our caretaker Oskar was unable to find anything in local and online DIY stores to replace them with and it was this problem that inspired the students to use the 3D printer to make a new door runner part. Not only was this a success in fixing the door problem, the project also proved a winning success with the judges of the Empower3D 3D-Printing Schools competition sponsored by i-Form and Stryker in Cork.
As part of the prize, both classes were invited to Cork for a facility tour of the Stryker operation. Initially of course, we thought the idea of going to Cork and back in one day would prove to be too much of an undertaking for all concerned but when the prize was mentioned to the children, there was a clear majority in favour of the trip. So we consulted parents and they also supported the enthusiasm of the children so we set about planning the trip and finally, last Tuesday, 39 students and 5 staff set off on the furthest trip ever undertaken by students of Aston Village ETNS.
We set off shortly after 6:30am and most children came equipped with their pillows and comforts for the long journey. After a short stop in Kildare, we arrived at Stryker in Cork at 11am. We had a very interesting tour of the facility, one of the largest 3D Printing operations in the World and then we were treated to a delicious lunch in the fabulous Stryker canteen. Once we were finished, we were very excited to attend the official prize-giving ceremony and receive our trophies and prize from the directors of i-Form and Stryker. We had just enough time to take part in a quiz testing our knowledge of Stryker and the human body (Stryker manufacture orthopaedic implants) before we were treated to more goodies as the very kind people at Stryker gave everyone a Stryker cool-bag and water bottle.
We bade farewell to our wonderful hosts and set off on our long trip home afterwards and the children were still so excited and buzzing well into the journey. We stopped once more in Kildare on the homeward journey and were treated by our teachers to icepops after we had our Lunch Bag snacks. Unfortunately the playground we had hoped to enjoy was closed but we certainly didn’t let that dampen our spirits. After negotiating the bad traffic, we eventually landed back at school shortly after 7pm and many of us were really tired after the long trip but full of great memories from a fantastic day. Every child was on their best behaviour throughout the day and represented our school fantastically. Well done everyone!
