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The objects were donated by staff and clients, sandpit facilitators and workshop participants. Each has been given a description and a Quick Response code so that people can scan them with their mobiles to learn more.

The metal ring, for example, came from a First World War German submarine and was found on a rocky coastline by Jeremy Richards, the college's head of innovation. It was only when he soaked it in vinegar and scrubbed it clean that he found it wasn't just a piece of rusty iron.

The parking meter mechanism was picked up on a London street in the mid-1990s by events communications coordinator Kate Thomas and attests to the vulnerability to vandalism of coin-fed meters.

"The use of physical objects to stimulate lateral thinking is a well-known technique," Dr Richards said. The objects form the core of a rapidly expanding collection.

Send suggestions for this series on the treasures, oddities and curiosities owned by universities across the world to matthew.reisz@tsleducation.com.