Establishing a Local Data Trust [within ElhPlan] to hold the data from the Saaf Hava Citizen Sensing network on behalf of the community – the data will be available to anyone benefiting the community for free, at a small charge for any grant-funded activity, and a market rate for commercial activity. Funds raised this way will address the digital divide in Easton & Lawrence Hill.
Archive information
The University of The West of England (UWE) STEM Ambassadors support children and young people to learn basic coding, animation, projection mapping, data handling and gardening. Sessions are free flow and tailored towards the needs and interests of those who attend.
STEM= Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Important details
For: Children and young people between the ages of 8 and 17.
When: Monday 5-7.30pm (Meal included/weekly sessions to continue throughout the summer holidays)
Where: Baggator, All Hallows Rd, BS5 0HH
Price: Free
For more details please contact maryan@baggator.com
A collaboration between UWE and Baggator
The University of The West of England (UWE) has teamed up with Baggator to provide children and young people with the opportunity to learn valuable skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
Children and young people between the ages of eight and seventeen can choose their activity upon arrival and are supported by staff and volunteers from UWE. A free evening meal and pudding is provided to all attendees.
Why is coding so important?
Maryan, the UWE STEM co-ordinator who runs the project believes that coding is an invaluable skill for the modern world. For some of the younger children, Minecraft is a good starting option which can lay the groundwork for moving on to javascript in a simplified form.
“Minecraft is a great way to get them started because the formatting is very similar to coding. If they wanted to push that further they could use Javascript with a starter code that’s already simplified so kids can use it,” explains Maryan.
For those who are more creative there are ways of using Javascript codes to make kaleidoscopes. Children can create visual art that can be used for light shows with cameras and LED lights. There are also opportunities for creativity through the creation of animation films.
Activities that young people enjoy
With the full use of the garden and two floors of The pickle factory children and young people can choose the activities they enjoy. Younger children have enjoyed gardening and dissecting flowers to find and identify the different parts that make up a flower.
There are plans to work with older children in creating air pollution data, a project not only beneficial to the children who learn to code and handle large data sets but also to the wider community by giving them a tool to understand the levels of air pollution in their neighbourhood.
Maryan explains: “The little weather apps that we all have on our phones have massive data sets. We are trying to get the kids to make something like that but for air pollution; essentially taking this big scary data set and make it so anyone can understand. When you learn how to understand and code for big data sets that is a really valuable skill, employers love it. We are mainly aiming this at older kids going to University.”
We are using the results from Saaf Hava’s Citizen Sensors for data on Air Pollution and Traffic in Easton
Further Information
| Name of group Easton Data Garden What do you do? The Easton Data Garden is a STEM and sustainability initiative headquartered in Baggator/The Pickle Factory. This initiative was created to improve the Easton community’s awareness of these issues and provide underrepresented groups with additional skills in these areas. To achieve our objectives, we created a variety of data sets and in-person workshops to allow children better comprehend and use information in ways that benefit the community. These workshops allow (primarily children) to interact and play with technology in ways they may not have had access to. In addition, we established a community garden (soon to be) outfitted with sensors to combine technological work with gardening, allowing the children who visit to gain knowledge of how food develops and how data can be utilised in person. We are also working with Universities to run projects throughout the year which primarily benefits older teens looking into higher education. We teach coding, primarily through Minecraft, JavaScript, HTML and CSS and more. We are working with Saaf Hava’s Citizen Sensors to develop projects using Traffic and Air Quality Sensors. These projects are aimed at helping the local community. Who do you do it for? >19s When do you do it? Mondays 5 till 7. Although we may host other events Where do you do it? Primarily in Baggator. Although we may run some external events Does it cost money? IT’S FREE!! Is there anything you need? We are planning: Online and in-person club for 13-17-year-olds Learn to code with coding challenges Have adventures in environmental science and sustainability Explore computer animation, art and design Have fun with Minecraft and scratch gaming activities Get involved with projects, competitions and quizzes How did you start? We were originally called STEM@Baggator but wanted a more technology and sustainability focus to cover both the digital divide in Bristol and the ways young people in the community can help. We also wanted to provide more practical skills that would be marketable for teens when applying for higher education. We renamed in july 2021. Person to contact for more details Maryan Abdirahman Contact email address maryan@baggator.com Logo logo.zip |