Mobile TMC at Leicester's Skyride

Mobile TMC was on Abbey Park on Sunday (August 28) to support Leicester's Skyride event.

During the day we had dozens of young people join us for fun activities including story telling, a film screening and lots of games too!

See some of the photos from the day below:



Watch, AD, TMC's Journals Manager, talking about Mobile TMC.

Update from work experience placement Arushi

                                                        Arushi Patel
Arushi Patel joined TMC over a month ago as an enterprise assistant work placement.
So far, Arushi has worked across the team helping out with everything from spreadsheets to facilitating Mobile TMC at Leicester's Skyride event.

The fine art graduate will be staying with TMC until she jets off on her travels in February 2012.

Here's what she's been up to in her first month with us:

"I’ve been with TMC for about a month now and have been enjoying my time very much from meeting the team, being part of the environment and learning new things.


I’ve learnt quite a lot coming into the office here at LCB Depot and really love to be around the creativity that surrounds the building. It brings back a comfort from when I was in art school so this is something special for me. It’s been nice to know what each member of staff do and how their role keeps the TMC running.

My proudest and most exciting thing to have learnt so far are spread sheets in Microsoft Excel! This may sounds strange but with a background in art, I’ve never had to do anything like that before so it was great to put together so much information and in a professional and organised structure. I could look back at it when I filled out the table with appropriate colour schemes to ensure a pleasant and subtle outcome (attention to detail you see!) that I was able to do this all by myself.


I also spent a few hours in a meeting about the TMC APP with the communications team and Karen Birch, Director of Sector Development. It was intriguing to be part of a decision making process and exciting to see what may be a success for the future of TMC. I was made to feel very welcomed and appreciated for any ideas I had which gave me a lot of confidence especially when some of my ideas were good enough to be involved in the final drafting! That felt really good and I think confidence building is so important when doing something new as I’m realising more of my potential and how far I could to take it.

I’ve also gained more of an understanding to how the team work and what TMC are all about and their passion to make sure they do their best because they believe in what they do more than anything else. I really appreciate that attitude and hope to find this when I start my career."


This week sees the start of the new term for schools across the country. Arushi tells us about her experience of going back to school:
 
"This is always an interesting time of the year. It used to be two months of waking up late in the morning, no plans for the day but to watch cartoons and wear whatever it is I would like to wear! Freedom I believe is what they called it.

But the sooner the summer holidays came, the sooner the time came to returning back to school, which was scary and daunting because you didn’t know what lay ahead. Which of your friends remained and who was going to be teaching you? My memory of starting University for instance, an institute where absolutely none of my school/college friends were going to be and everything was new and I had no idea what to expect.

I dealt with this by making sure to have had a good night’s sleep and a filling breakfast, all to ensure I was wide awake and fully alert for my first day. I approached people with a smile and kept positive because feeling positivity inside, brings a positive vibe outside and makes others feel comfortable and happy around you."

Thanks Arushi!

Introducing TMC's Participation Manager - Ben Kingston-Hughes

"Six weeks in post I’m finally getting my head around the incredible work TMC does with children and young people. I’ve seen first hand the profound impact that TMC projects have and the lasting benefits they have inspired. I have also discovered how much food can be bought in and around the LCB depot and am now spending a fortune on snacks.


My job as Participation Manager is to ensure that children and young people’s opinions are heard and acted upon and that young people have an opportunity to make a difference at every level of the organisation. This has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember and being able to help realise this in an organisation such as TMC is a fantastic opportunity.


My background is originally in adventure play. I went to do a six week summer play scheme whilst studying for my first degree and ended up staying for thirteen years. This was not due to any particular love of the job but because in my first week a child stole my shoes and I was unable to leave. I eventually found my shoes and went on to become a Development Coordinator for a National Charity with a remit to support children and young people across the UK managing several projects and delivering training and consultancy.


I was asked to lead consultation exercises for several Local Authorities and National Companies and was immediately struck by how much of an afterthought these consultations seemed to be. In many cases the opinions of the young people were merely a justification after the fact. Once I was even asked to steer a consultation to make sure the young people agreed with what had already been decided. Needless to say I refused!


I made a name for myself as someone who puts young people first in the consultation process and was subsequently asked to speak at conferences about participation and how important it was that children and young people had ownership over their projects. All of this through many plot twists brought me to apply for the position of Participation manager at TMC.


Ok that’s the resume – but what about the real Ben? Well I like to spend my time helping old ladies and pumping iron in the gym. Sorry that was the wrong way round, I help in a gym and….no forget that line of thought. In reality I have a quite dull life. I have a 3½ year old boy and another little girl due in September. I am failing to write two books and play league badminton for a team that loses more than it wins. I dabble in poetry and the odd bit of freelance work teaching adults how to play with children more positively.


So what can we expect over the next few months at TMC? A new group of young people will be appearing in the office on the 7th September to help steer the next phase of the participation strategy and to form an advisory panel for any projects that need access to young people. We also have several events planned with the My World Project and hopefully will be working with the comms team enabling young people to develop computer games to be showcased on the TMC website. So all in all a good start to the job and an exciting time to come – I just have to get over having a new baby in the house and the sleep deprivation that entails."

Ben Kingston-Hughes
ben@themightycreatives.com

Creativity and Science - two sides of the same coin?

With a record number of students facing a scramble for university places this year combined with the coalition government’s proposed overhaul of higher education, it seems young people in Britain are faced with uncertainty over their future now more than ever.


Inherent in the wave of change sweeping our education system is a greater focus on maths and sciences – funding cuts to the humanities and arts have raised fears that creativity and imagination are no longer being encouraged in our schools and have been traded in for rational thinking and logic. But why should science and creativity be separated in this way? Such artificial boundaries between subjects prevent children and young people from accessing a wider and more diverse learning experience In the view of many in the education sector, in order to meet the challenges of the coming century, this needs to change, fast. One organisation leading the change is Ignite!.

Ignite! is a not-for-profit organisation set up in 2006 to promote creativity in learning. Over the past four years, Ignite! has sought new ways to bring creative thinking into the teaching and learning of STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) through its Ignition* programme, which it has delivered in collaboration with creative development agency The Mighty Creatives and with funding from the East Midlands Development Agency.

The principle is simple; by approaching STEM subjects in an open and inquiring way, Ignition* has broken down the invisible wall between the arts and the sciences and created a more nuanced approach to education.


The programme has been a vital part of the work done by The Might Creatives in preparing young people for a lifetime of leadership, innovation and enterprise. “As funding priorities shift, one thing remains clear: our children face an unknowable future.



Our biggest gift is to help them develop the right creative skills and capabilities to drive change that brings positive results for both people and the planet. Ignition* has been a powerful way to implement this,” says Richard Clark, Chief Executive of The Mighty Creatives.


This approach is rapidly gaining leverage in this country, and the evidence of four years intervention is that as more young people shift their perceptions of STEM, they are more likely to express a desire to take them as possible subjects in higher education and to seek careers with a STEM connection. As the government looks set to focus on maths and sciences as the subjects of the future, it is vital now more than ever these subjects are made accessible and exciting to students.

Rick Hall, Director of Programmes at Ignite! explains the philosophy behind the Ignition* programme as a way of taking education into the future:


“The majority of young people who enter the education system today will leave in the future to take up jobs that have not been invented yet. They will lead changes from this century onwards in a world that we can only imagine. The solutions that they find to the challenges of the time – social, economic and environmental – will require a combination of knowledge, skills and imagination.


“Many of the solutions and opportunities of the future will be found in the application of STEM subjects, but without imagination and creativity we will merely repeat the mistakes of the past. Ignite! promotes creativity in learning and works with partners to test new models of curriculum development and change.”


In the four years since it began, Ignition* has worked with over 20,000 pupils and young people, 80 scientists and artists and 50 teachers across the East Midlands to bring creativity and excitement to the sciences. One of the most innovative programmes created by Ignition* is the Lab_13 initiative.



Lab_13 designates a space within a school where children can let their imaginations loose. Run for young people, by young people, and based on the Room 13 art initiative in Fort William, Scotland, the lab provides an extra-curricular way for students to share their enthusiasm for experimentation and ideas by creating their own science projects. Six Lab_13s have been set up to date, and have proved a resounding success with pupils and teachers alike.



Ignition* has also run a series of STEM Fluency Labs, a five-day residential lab where teachers can work in collaboration with artists and scientists to breath new life into the teaching of STEM subjects. As one teacher put it, “the STEM Fluency Lab is possibly the single most influential course in my career to date, [it] has armed me with a great many skills for the classroom.”


Underpinning the range of activities in the Ignition* programme is a belief in the value of collaborations between artists and scientists. Placing artists and scientists in school in preparation for National Science and Engineering Week in March in a programme called Come Alive With Science has proved especially successful in engaging young people from all abilities and interests.


As well as promoting changes within the classroom, Ignition* has also provided support and funding for a number of exceptional individuals, or Creative Sparks. These young people have received support to follow a programme of personal creative STEM development, including travel expenses and residential creativity labs. In return, they have acted as role models and ambassadors to inspire their peers and raise their educational and career aspirations.


Courtney Williams is one Spark who has used her award to create a resource combining web design and writing to encourage more people to study physics.

“Through Creative Sparks came the revelation that I could, and had been, creative with science too. The concept of science being an innately creative thing, once so foreign to me, is now ingrained.”

Another Creative Spark, Sophie Jones, recently visited Brazil with her award to learn about sustainability in manufacturing, and is currently leading workshops for young girls to promote awareness of the role scientists and engineers will have in resolving environmental issues.


“There is a high awareness among young people of the importance of environmental issues such as climate change and renewable energy. However, they often do not see the role of engineers and scientists in finding the solutions. The national curriculum, sadly, often fails to communicate this to students and this is why organisations like Ignite! are crucial to ensuring that more students are attracted towards the STEM subjects.”


As Ignition* comes to the end of its current funding, the programme will be celebrating four fantastic years of creative STEM programmes and activities with a celebration event, to bring together some of the brilliant young people, teachers, supporters, practitioners and partners that have been involved.

The Celebration Event will take place over Monday 12th & Tuesday 13th September in Leicester.

PHOTOS: Dress the World Residential

Up to 30 young people from across the East Midlands joined The Mighty Creatives (TMC) for a three-day residential to develop engagement of three 2012 museum exhibits.


The residential at Quorn Hall saw young people, who have worked with museums across the three counties, come together to research and develop visitors experience to the Dress the World exhibitions.


Dress the World exhibitions will celebrate the global exchanges that have shaped, and continue to shape, fashion in the East Midlands.


The exhibitions will be held at Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery and New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester.

TMC are working with Dress the World, which is part of the Cultural Olympiad, to ensure youth engagement is present throughout the projects.


Nottingham-based coaching company, Light Beam, led the young people on a team building treasure hunt for the first day of the residential last Friday (August 19).

On the second day, the young people were given a guided tour of Snibston Discovery Park and had the chance to explore the fashion gallery.
The young people developed the skills to enable them to curate and engage  visitors around museum exhibits.

 



somewhereto_

Are you 16-25?

Do you need a space or place to do the things you love?

Or are you a space-holder who has access to or influence over how a space is used?

The Mighty Creatives (TMC) is now delivering somewhereto_ in the East Midlands. To read the full press release and to find out more click here.

My World is Your World...

 

The Mighty Creatives My World Project


Creative sparks were flying when sixteen young people from Nottingham and Derbyshire met to take part in the My World Mighty Team project. For two weeks young people have been writing, directing, filming and editing their own films on the things that are most important to them.


The finished films covered subjects ranging from bullying and joblessness to gruesome horror and comedy. The experience was incredibly positive for the young people who took part and the finished films will be part of the My World website which is a platform for young people’s films to help change their world for the better.


“Making videos has given me confidence to talk about being bullied and through making films I can share what happened to me and help other young people who are being bullied.” Young person
 “R has really come out of his shell and has gained more confidence in two weeks of this project than a whole year of school.” parent


My World Mighty Team films coming soon!