Maker City
Jump Studios star-jumped into August with an action-packed Maker City week at KWMC The Factory. The programme’s first day began with exciting tasters of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) world we were about to explore.
The young people were given a tour of the building and shown live demos of the diverse technology we have available at The Factory. Excited by the laser cutter and the vinyl cutter; the young people tried their hand at making their own personalised stickers and wooden name badges, learning how to use Inkscape and transfer files onto the machines. They even learnt how to drive Sphero robots and created their own 3D mazes to race them around.
As well as tasters of the technology, Maker City Day 1 delved into Social Action; practising interactive activities to ignite conversations around interests and passions within their community. This led us to our first ‘Build Your Bristol’ challenge where the young people were given a budget for simple materials to design and engineer a prototype of something that Bristol would benefit from as a city.
Day 2 of Maker City continued with the fight for Social Action as we went out as a group into the local community and started highlighting things that we noticed. The young people were aware of the positive infrastructure around them and were equally aware of the things that were missing or that they would like to change. Passionate conversations arose about the environmental and social needs of the people and the area and how they could start making positive changes.
The group noticed social issues; large amounts of litter on the ground and overflowing bins, a lack of greenery and dull signposting. They discussed how these issues made some of them feel unsafe and unwelcome on Filwood Broadway. The young people started to think about the technology available at KWMC The Factory and how machines like the laser cutter or the vinyl cutter could be used to create bright colourful signs for the high street and how the CNC machine could help build more bins for the community.
When we got back to the Factory the young people started thinking about the Social Action Campaign they wanted to focus on throughout the project. They came up with snappy slogans and designed their own protest placards using digital drawings on their computers ready to be cut out on the laser cutter. Some of the slogans included; ‘This Is Not Freedom’, and ‘Protect Our Planet.’ The young people thought about products they might want to create to support their social action campaign and created prototypes of their designs.
One young person designed a pill-shaped magnet with their slogan on it to spread awareness about the current anti-abortion laws in America. Another young person wanted to focus on improving people’s lifestyles in Bristol by designing a free transport bus. One even designed an ocean-cleaning boat which gathered plastic from the top of the ocean as it moved.
The ideas were courageous and diverse, looking to help people and the environment in a variety of creative and innovative ways. Other STEAM tactile design activities were carried out on this day to help the young people develop their STEAM practices and influence their Social Action campaigns. The young people created personalised kaleidoscopes and embroidered their own tote bags to take home.
The third day of the programme is when we bought everything and everyone together. The young people processed their ideas from prototypes to their final products and created PowerPoints on Canva to explain their Social Action journey in a colourful and accessible way. Gathering all of their hard work together, the young people set up KWMC The Factory as an incredible exhibition space and invited friends and family to come along to enjoy their incredible creations.
Sound Wave
We ran our Sound Wave summer programme in the second week of August at Knowle West Media Centre. These three days consisted of young people taking part in drumming circle workshops, jamming together and creating their music using a mix of instruments and music software.
Day 1 of the programme introduced the young people to different ways of creating music. We had workshops from our associate facilitators/musicians around lyric writing, using synthesizers and finding inspiration when writing a song. In one activity everyone shared a song that they really enjoy and connect with then gave a few reasons why. We found there was an eclectic range of songs and styles within the group and the young people were able to use it as a springboard to start creating and making their own music!
Day 2 started with some group games that included learning how using different sounds in your music can change the feeling of your song. The young people would hear a sound and have to walk to a spot if they thought it was a High end, Midrange or Low end sound. We then went into a group jam with young people trying out different instruments and taking turns to conduct the group. We saw great group dynamics with everyone taking part and giving it a go.
After everyone was warmed up the young people started creating their own songs using software (Soundtrap, Garageband or Logic) and instruments of their choice. We were then able to showcase the amazing work that was made. Parents and staff were invite to the main studio of KWMC, where the young people had their laptops and headphones ready to play the songs they had created. It was amazing to see the creativity that they all have.
If you are interested in signing up for any of our after-school sessions or have any questions, please follow this link or email jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk
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