Stemettes is a UK organisation that engages, inspires, and educates young women and non-binary people into STEM careers.

As part of their role in creativity/STEM project called About Us around the four nations, they are delivering free Scratch coding workshops in schools to help them explore coding. This week, they have delivered physical workshops to the following primary schools:

Howwood Primary
Fordbank Primary
Bridge of Weir Primary School

A virtual workshop was held at West Primary School on Wednesday 26th January.

 

We will be back for some shows in your area over the next few months

LOCATIONS & DATES
Paisley Abbey, Paisley: 1st to 6th March 2022, with a public preview on the 28th of February.

Stemettes, The Poetry Society and 59 Productions invite children on an exciting journey through poetry, science and technology, spanning 13.8 billion years

The launch of About Us a major live event and UK-wide competition combining poetry music and science advancing creativity in STEAM education

London, UK 21stOctober 2021:  Stemettes and The Poetry Society, in collaboration with 59 Productions, are delighted to announce the launch of an exciting new poetry and Scratch animation competition for young people aged 4 to 18 years old in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The competition is part of About Us, the first in a series of ten sensational projects commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, a ground-breaking UK-wide celebration of creativity in 2022. Developed in collaboration with poets and scientists across the UK, About Us is a large-scale public event for all ages that combines live shows and multimedia installations to tell the story of the infinite ways in which we are connected to the universe, natural world, and one another from the Big Bang to the present day.

The About Us competition invites young people across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to enter a poem or animation Scratch project – or to enter both – around the theme of ‘connectivity and the universe’ reflecting on the many ways in which life across the universe is interwoven. Participation is open to all young people in the UK aged 4 to 18. The winning entries will be featured in bespoke multimedia installations that will accompany a spectacular live projection mapping show that will tour the UK in Spring 2022 and the poems will also be published in a dedicated digital anthology. The work created will also form part of a lasting digital archive of the imagination to inspire other young people in years to come. There are lots more amazing goodies and talent development opportunities for the winners from The Poetry Society and Stemettes. 

To help get inspired, teachers, youth workers and students will be encouraged to explore free digital resource packs with thrilling topics relating to the theme of ‘connectivity and the universe’ to spark creative inspiration in their classrooms and at home. Topics include, space and cosmology, cellular life, ecosystems and the relationships between different organisms, networks within the human body, linguistic connectivity, technology, and the climate. New resources will be added regularly throughout the competition.

A multi-disciplinary panel of experts will choose selected entries to the competition to feature within the spectacular public event. The live shows are free and suitable for all ages and will be coming to Paisley, Derry-Londonderry, Caernarfon, Luton and Hull from March to May 2022.

Alongside the UK-wide competition, young people from each of these locations will also be invited to participate in extra activities exploring their creativity. In January and February 2022, children in 50 primary schools will take part in bespoke Scratch coding and poetry workshops, delivered respectively by Stemettes and The Poetry Society, showcasing the meeting points between science, technology and poetry.

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, Co-founder and CEO of Stemettes said: “I can’t wait to see the creativity flow from young people across the country. We’re celebrating everyone in this collaboration and whether it’s a tech project, a poem or both, we’re excited to see what connectivity looks like across our universe.”

Judith Palmer, Director, The Poetry Society, said: “Young people’s creativity never fails to amaze us. We’re very excited to see young imaginations at work in their animations and poems, and then to share these ideas with the world. Young people tell us all the time how much they value opportunities to express themselves, how it helps build their confidence and supports their mental well-being. About Us, and UNBOXED, gives us the chance for more young people than ever to have their voice heard. With an interdisciplinary approach we aim to set curious minds sparking across the school community. We look forward to hearing what inspires young people about science, the natural world and the web of inter-reliance that connects us all together.”  

Lysander Ashton, Project Director, About Us and Director, 59 Productions, said: “About Us is a huge-scale exploration of the vast networks that connect every single one of us to the universe, natural world, and most importantly, to one another. We knew right at the outset of the project that collaboration would be at its heart, and we can’t wait to see the poems and animation Scratch projects inspired by the same themes that first captured our imaginations. The winning entries will be incorporated into the multimedia installations that will pop up in each of the five towns and cities on our tour. They’ll be on display throughout the daytime for a week in each location, and I hope they’ll encourage everyone to stop and take a moment to consider our awe-inspiring universe”.

The poetry and animation Scratch competition is free to enter and is open to young people living in the UK aged 4 to 18 years. The closing date is 23:59 GMT on Sunday 19th December 2021. Full details of the rules of entry and the entry form can be found here. Teachers can enter a class set online using the class entry portal. Poetry entries can be submitted in English, Welsh, Braille or BSL.

About Us is a collaboration between 59 Productions – the award-winning design studio and production company who created the video design for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony; Stemettes – the award-winning social enterprise working to bring young women and non-binary young people into Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers; and The Poetry Society – the UK’s experts in young people’s poetry education.

Further information on About Us can be found at aboutus.earth