Wakey Makey Makey, GalleryCamp14 Derby QUAD

I've come across this funky little circuit board before but this was my first hands on and it was quite a delightful experience  my dear!

I was attending the Makey Makey workshop at the GalleryCamp14 Unconference at QUAD this year. 

Your connect it via USB to your computer then use wires ending in croc clips to connect the board to any electrically conductive object, and away you go. 

And I do mean ANY electrically conductive object.

 From bananas to pencil graphite to squidgy sweets and play dough, it all works fella.  "You can even hook up a row of students and bang their bonces like a drum machine"

Dialup the makeymakey website and then got to the 'how to' section. You can control games and music making software and basically anything that requires a controller. 

The computer sees the board as a control input interface and  this is why the magic happens - when you add software like Scratch you not only create your own game, you create how its controlled.

If you already know scratch you'll soon be up and running, jumping, shooting and banging in no time, just check out the tutorials abound on the Makey Makey website.

£40 from Maplin. Bargain. Go play.

Barnsley Young Apprentice Summer School

Students Rehearsing

Students from Barnsley have completed a Performing Arts and Media Summer School at Sheffield Hallam University.


Key Stage 5 students created showreels and a pop video during professional media training workshops.


The Summer school was all about getting a real world taste of what its like to work in the cultural industries. 


Students; grew in confidence; led their own learning and development; received professional training and improved their readiness for the job market. This was a Barnsley Young Apprenticeship Programme. Maxine Greaves, Equality and Community Engagement Manager at Sheffield Hallam University, hosted the Summer School.

Padiham Greenway, Padiham, Nr. Burnley

A disused railway has bene transformed into a linear park and cycleway!


A lifetime in the making, this project was about the stories surrounding the old railway line and the ideas and aspirations for the new park.


Somethimes funny, sometimes sad sometimes poeticI helped a group of secondary school kids explore these stories and ideas using video and digital imaging. 


A Mid Pennine Arts Project.  You can view their films here