ROBOTS will be fighting it out this weekend as part of an event that promises to have audiences on “the edge of their seats”, writes Camilla James.

To celebrate National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW), the National Railway Museum in York has teamed up with Robots Live to explore this year’s theme of “invention and discovery”.

Featuring robots of all shapes and sizes, the line-up includes the motorised veterans from the TV show Robot Wars.

They will be fighting it out in a specially built 8M2 arena, complete with professional sound, lighting and the infamous pit of oblivion.

In between the battles there will also be live demonstrations from a rope-climbing Skeletron, a water squirting Sidewinder and a full-sized Dalek. The mechanoid Sidewinder took to the streets of York to promote this weekend-long event.

Noel Hartley, rail events coordinator at the museum, said: “This is an incredible event full of excitement for people of all ages and will hopefully get a new generation of people talking about the wonders of science. We are really proud to have been involved in NSEW for over a decade and look forward to showing everyone how much fun science is through our wide range of workshops and shows.”

The family activities will start on Saturday, but school groups will be able to attend pre-booked workshops and shows throughout this week.

National Science & Engineering Week is a ten-day programme of about 4,500 events running throughout the whole of the UK with the aim of celebrating science, engineering and technology, and its importance in our lives.

For more information about Robots Live, visit, nrm.org.uk/robots