In October I ran a series of Halloween themed Mandala workshops, with adult groups and as part of the ‘Fit and Fun’ activities for children at Bullion Hall. I had a great time seeing how people use the same templates to create their own designs. All of the mandalas as ever were hand drawn by myself and then printed out ready for people to use.
In the run up to Christmas I was tasked with making the Santa Experience at the Life Science Centre a little bit more authentic and less IKEA. I used the laser cutter to create interesting shapes out of cardboard to shape into frames, made a working Grandfather clock, a naughty and nice book, and a loverly fireplace from ye olden days. I also made some of the props that were used in the show into something a bit more authentic, a chimney to shoot smoke out of and jazz up Henry the hoover.
While at the Centre for Life, I was involved in many different projects.
I started as part of the Exhibition Building Team in 2010 that built Curiosity, a new Gallery that would be in the Science Centre, a gallery without instructions and no answers, a gallery or exploration and leanring through Play. 13 years later and some of these exhibits are still in daily use at the Science Centre.
A few years later I started work as a Maker as part of the Erasmus Tinkering Project Phase one, this invovled working with museums and schools in Europe to develop and deliver new Tinkering projects. Projects that focused on the process rather than outcome, that encouraged learning through play and risk taking, being able to problem solve and experiment. As part of this project: I delivered CPD sessions to teachers; delivered sessions in schools and at Northumbrian Water’s Innovation Festival with primary and secondary school student groups; and delivered sessions with families in the Centre for Life.
Alongside being part of the Erasmus project I was also employed as Maker within the Science Museum, I created a Making Studio within the Centre, a temporary space, built with what we had and open every holiday and weekend to begin with. Throughout the 5 years I was at the Science Centre, the space proved very popular, as it moved around the Centre to find new homes in many different places and this was proven true when a permanent Making Studios was opened. During this time I developed and ran activities for pre-school days, adult events and the public visiting. Often developing acitivies to match the themes going on within the Science Centre such as Dinosaurs, Space, and one memorable half term, Poo.
While at Life I was also part fo the team who developed and worked on Maker Faire UK. A Maker Faire is a convention of do it yourself enthusiasts established by Make magazine in 2006. Participants come from a wide variety of interests, such as robotics, 3D printing, computers, arts and crafts, and hacker culture. This was a chance to meet Makers not only from the North East but also across the UK, to help organise a huge event and make sure that everyone there enjoyed themselves.
For two yers prior to starting at the Centre for Life, I had a stall at Maker faire, all about the 3 R’s: Reuse, reduce, Recycle. Where visitors could make an upcycled keyring from an old toy or a piece of upcycled jewellery.
Crooked Halo Crafts and Design 