Trucknasium offers an interesting curriculum about mobility, sustainability and road-safety for second and third-year VMBO-T (intermediate vocational education – theoretical), HAVO (higher general secondary education) and VWO (preliminary scientific education) students. Since early 2019 the programme is also available for group 7 and 8 (6th grade) primary school students. The programme begins with an introductory lecture at school, given by the regular teacher.
Of course, the Trucknasium will provide a comprehensive instruction paper. After the instruction at school, the class will attend the Trucknasium programme in the DAF Museum. In small groups and under supervision of the Trucknasium staff the students will work on a number of modules, each of 40 minutes’ duration.
1. Transport & logistics
How important is transport in our society? What is needed for road transport in the future? Various major and minor transport issues are dealt with in this module.
And not less important: how can you start a career in logistics on the basis of an intermediate or higher secondary education or a university education. Come and find out!
2. Composing a truck
For distribution in the inner-city of Eindhoven a different truck is used than for the transport of 4 tonnes of soft drinks to Spain. Which type of vehicle is needed for which job?
Do not only find out which truck is best suited, but build it yourself at the Trucknasium! Using a touchscreen you collect the parts needed from the store, get started and compose one yourself!
3. Measuring the rolling resistance
The easier a truck rolls on the road, the less fuel it will use. Quite logical, right? But how is it done, make a truck roll easier?
Just by inflating the tyres more, or are there other means? Experiment, measure and make the result visible in a graph. Besides, will trucks still roll in the future? Why not hover?
4. Measuring air resistance
Trucknasium has a real wind tunnel, in which the air resistance can be measured!
Compare the air resistance of an old-fashioned angular truck with that of a modern streamlined truck. What will the truck of tomorrow look like? The design of the external shape is becoming increasingly important. That is technology, too!
5. Design a cabin yourself
A fuel efficient truck has a streamlined cab. But what should it look like inside?
Design the ideal working and living space for the driver. With comfortable seats and one or two bunks. Maybe a refrigerator, or an integrated iPad? Which materials do you choose? And which colours? It’s all up to you.
6. Loading and unloading
Transport of loads always involves risks. Safe and responsible loading, unloading and driving with loads is very important for any truck driver to prevent accidents and traffic congestion.
The same goes for all other road users, obviously. Therefore safety systems are essential. Which regulations apply to the driver’s job, actually? In the Trucknasium you will learn by loading and unloading a mini truck yourself. In this way you will soon find out how things go in practice.
Thanks in part to our great mobility we live in a prosperous and highly developed country. However, participating in road traffic always involves some risks.
More and more the driver is supported by high tech safety systems in order to take part in the ever denser traffic in the safest, most comfortable and most efficient way possible. Experience yourself how technology leads safety in the right direction.
We're living in a century of robots.
More than enough reason for Trucknasium to offer a robotics program, where children learn how to manufacture a vehicle with LEGO parts. Programming these parts through smart actions is the exciting next step that follows upon manufacturing.
An alternative to the main robotics program can be found in challenging and more complex programming assigments with LEGO-vehicles that already are built-up.
A robotics sessions takes about three hours.
9. Conducted tour through the DAF Museum
Lose yourself in a journey through over 90 years of DAF motoring history. You will encounter a variety of oldtimer trucks and passenger cars, but you will also sit behind the wheel of the latest DAF truck.
You will dwell on important inventions, like the fully automatic Variomatic transmission (the smart lever), that has had a great impact on car technology. Lots of surprizing discoveries, again and again.