Blog

October Half Term At Jump Studios

November 23, 2022 by Megan Ballin

Maker City

With Halloween on the horizon, local young people came together for a day of spooky STEAM shenanigans at KWMC The Factory. From pumpkin carving, and clay sculpturing to making their own Halloween stickers and laser-cut frames, they did it all.

Photography

The group of young people learned composition theory, and how to operate a professional DSLR camera. They participated in a photography expedition to the Northern Slopes, learned how to edit images, and hosted a public photography exhibit at Knowle West Media Centre in only two days.

The building felt alive as young people shared a collection of 2D photography collages, digital images and visual storytelling presentations. A collection of their work is going to be up in the main studio for people to come and see in their own time!

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.

Work Experience 2022

October 11, 2022 by Cashell Smith

This year we launched our Maker City Industry Work Experience programme. We worked with 16 local young people and partnered with engineering businesses: Arup, Mott McDonald and Arcadis to focus on making a change in our city!

We started the week at KWMC, getting to know each other and setting out what to expect for the week ahead.

In the afternoon, we held taster sessions in photography, music and content creation – ran by our team here at KWMC. These taster sessions focused on building their creativity and confidence by using tech to capture and tell stories through different platforms. We were able to share insight into how we use arts, tech and digital media in our day-to-day jobs here at KWMC!

Facilitators Meg and Jack leading the session at the start of the week.

After the first day, the participants felt that they had gained confidence in their creative skills and their ability in using them in the workplace. They also talked about how they had a better understanding of the work and change that KWMC aims to make and were excited to go into the city and put their skills to the test!

On Day 2 we visited Arup, the young people were amazed by their beautiful office, which even had a big tree inside! They spent the morning working with the mentors from Arup to undergo a budgeting and prototyping activity. Using little resources, the groups worked together to design a new cutting edge bridge for Bristol.

The mentors explained that their jobs rely on thinking outside the box when designing landmarks that already exist and that factoring in material costs is super important. The young people got a lot out of this activity, they felt they had a good amount of time to think through their ideas and having a budget really added another dynamic which gave them further understanding. The afternoon was spent hearing from different members of the team about what their day-to-day lives at Arup look like, they shared some exciting new projects with the group and listened to inspiring talks about how to get into the industry.

On Day 3 we visited Mott McDonald, this work experience was based around boat building. The mentors led a challenging task where the participants worked in pairs to create motor boats that could sail in a paddling pool! It was lots of fun but also very insightful and their prototyping and engineering skills were put to the test. The group also got to meet a wide range of staff from Motts. In the afternoon, there was a round-robin where the staff, all the way up to the CEO, shared one exciting project they had worked on. The participants had loads of brilliant questions and left feeling excited for the next trip to Arcadis!

Day 4 was all about the site visit! Arcadis is working on developments at Temple Meads Train Station and the participants got to go out to the site and visualise their ideas for designing a state-of-the-art train station! Their ideas included, a farmers market, a stream train restaurant, a rooftop bar with a rooftop garden and a local gift shop where artists can sell their products to people passing by.

Once they had visualised the space, they got all their ideas down on paper and presented them back to the staff at Arcadis, who were very impressed with the level of detail and creativity!

We loved having the young people take part in our week long Maker City Industry Programme, where not only did they get a taste of working life at five different venues across the city, they were able to feed their ideas and opinions into real life projects happening here in Bristol!

Maker City Industry Programme inspires young people to get creative with their STEAM skills and put them into action! We will also have spaces on our regular Maker City Industry Programme from January 2023 on Tuesday evenings at KWMC The Factory, you can register your interest now by filling out this form and selecting Maker City – you will be added to the waiting list and offered a place nearer the time!

Week 2 of work experience

Work experience at KWMC is a life-changing opportunity for young people to immerse themselves in a professional creative industry and broaden their horizons to an imaginative world full of possibilities. At KWMC, we encourage young people to learn in a self-led, trusting environment. Rather than showing young people how to perform specific chores, we encourage young people to express themselves, learn new creative skills and thrive in areas in which they feel passionate.

To start the week, the young people completed a manual-of-me sheet. This is a self-exploration tool which we use at KWMC for people to think about their interests, their learning and working styles and how they like to communicate with a wider team. We shared our manuals with each other to help build a trusting and productive working environment.

Recruitment for our programmes is a huge part of the work we do here at Knowle West Media Centre so the cohort spent one day out in the local community, leafletting for our Jump Studio’s Summer Program. The team really enjoyed this task and portrayed a lot of confidence and care while learning about Jump Studios and sharing this with the wider community.

The photography workshop allowed young people to learn the basic theories behind photography as well as take part in a practical challenge where they used DSLR cameras and practised directing and capturing to create a photography collection used to advertise products.

The film workshop allowed young people to learn about the different job roles available in the film industry. The young people started building production companies in small groups, learning how to script write, and storyboard short film scenes as well as using graphic design skills to design and create logos.

We ran tutorials on how to design using Wacoms, Inkscape, Canva, Sketchbook and other general Mac software. These skills were used throughout the week and the cohort had the opportunity to create products using KWMC’s laser cutter, vinyl cutter and heat press, focusing on Social Action and design which helps the wider community.

Throughout the week the cohort was able to start their Bronze Arts Awards. This meant that while gathering new skills and exploring new creative practices they were also able to work on their own personal projects and gain a qualification.

We will be running Work Experience again next year in July, register your interest for Work Experience 2023 here!

The Jump Studios Summer Programme 2022

September 21, 2022 by Cashell Smith

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

April & May Youth Council Meeting

May 27, 2022 by Megan Ballin

April Youth Council

In April, the Youth Council recorded their meeting as a way to share their ideas and discussions. With the main studio mic-ed up and ready, to go we started the session by sharing the positive news that local community voices have driven change and helped sign off the new MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) which is being built on Filwood Fields.

This recent example of local voices being turned into action excited the committee and we spent some time mind mapping other changes we would like to see in Filwood. Some examples the young people came up with were: a bakery, a craft shop and a cafe where you can adopt animals.

The Youth Council mic-ed up in the main studio

A young person raised the matter of local concern in the last session about the proposed 5G mast that is being built in Redcatch Park. The group decided to investigate further and we did some self-led research. They searched the internet for stats, facts and forums before gathering information and reporting back.

We discussed the power of protesting and the young people decided on short snappy slogans to capture their beliefs about the mast. Examples were turned into placards which we later laser cut at KWMC.

The Youth Council presenting their placards

The rest of the session was spent thinking about some internal development within KWMC. The training rooms are undergoing a makeover so we went on a recce to check out the space and the young people shared their ideas about how we could change the space to suit their needs during Jump Studio sessions.

After discussing plans as a group the team learnt how to use 3D design software; TinkerCAD to digitally design their ideal training room layout. The young people came up with some innovative ideas and supported them with advanced technical 3D designs.

A Youth Council member using TinkerCAD to design their ideal training room

May Youth Council

Our May Youth Council session landed on the local referendum voting day. The main studio of KWMC was being used as a polling station so we created a mini polling station upstairs in the Western Room where the committee were given faux polling cards and were asked to vote on the real-life referendum.

100% of the group voted that Bristol City Council should be run by 70 people as opposed to it being run by 1 mayor like it is at the moment. The young people discussed the pro’s and con’s of their democratic vote;

Pro’s of the Council being ran by 70 people:

Wanting something new
Different ideas
Different brain cells
What if the mayor’s idea isn’t what the people want
Different agreements
Compromising and mixing different ideas together
Think more about the community around Bristol
Hold each other accountable for their actions
Realising the risks that 1 person might not think about
Democracy

Cons;

Some people might disagree, it could cause arguments

The young people then went on to discuss the legal age to vote. They were advocating that the law should change so that when young people reach Key Stage 4 at the age of 14 they should be allowed to vote. They believe there should be more information on the voting system at schools, in museums, and on the Tuesday night TV programme, ‘News Round’. Conversations emerged about the history of women’s ability to vote and the young people shared information they had about this topic.

The young people spent the rest of the session thinking about their personal KWMC stories; how they first got involved with KWMC and how their journey has grown and developed. This was an opportunity for them to reflect on the impact KWMC has had on their lives and how they would like to stay connected in the future and help mould future projects.

To find out more about the Youth Council please contact jumpstudios@kwmc.org.uk

Mental Health Awareness Week At Jump Studios

May 12, 2022 by Megan Ballin

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and at Jump Studios, we have been incorporating mental health into our programme of after-school sessions throughout the entire of our last term and as we are in the opening stages of this term, we thought this week would be a good opportunity to revisit the theme.

We engaged with the theme by using games before designing and creating things that are associated with the young people’s reflections on mental health.

Based on the 5 steps of Mental Health and Wellbeing, we began sessions with a physical warm-up where the group intentionally walked around outside ‘Taking Notice’ of their breathing and their senses.

One-by-one, we introduced the other 4 steps.

When the word ‘Give’ was called out, the young people gestured to one another and gave each other a smile. When the word ‘Connect’ was called out they would walk up to the person closest to them and touch elbows. When ‘Be Active’ was called the young people did a star jump and for ‘Keep Learning’ they made a gesture to symbolise learning.

This exercise gave the young people a moment of their day to reflect and connect with themselves and their friends.

The theme continued into our sessions as they design and created projects based on Mental Health.

We have frequently found that the topic of mental health is always well received and treated with complete seriousness and maturity by the young people of Jump Studios, which is an exciting prospect to know that the next generation are so in touch with a topic that has potentially been neglected in the past.

We look forward to continuing this theme throughout the work we do with the young people at Knowle West Media Centre.

The New Term Begins!

May 5, 2022 by Clara Collett

As we welcome young people back for a new term at Jump Studios, we thought we’d let you know what our first week looked like. Following on from last term’s theme ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’, this term we will be focusing on ‘The Celebration of Community!

Maker City

We kicked off Maker City this term with Sphero Mazes…

The young people worked collaboratively to decide on their interpretations of a ‘new Bristol’. They created new rules, such as everyone must be kind and everyone gets free bus fare. They also decided on some new landmarks and then prototyped their new city using scrap material. From there, they began to use Sphero robots to navigate around their new cities, allowing them to discuss what change they would like to see. Finally, they tried their hand at ‘Tinkercad’, using their new cities as inspiration to learn 3D design.

*Young people creating their own cities for the Spheros to navigate through*

Control Alt Delete & Creative Hub

The group shared their favourite celebrations and festivals throughout the world. They carried out self-led research around a different celebration they did not know about already; from a different culture, religion or historical time. The group then used to learn ‘Canva’ and created posters and PowerPoints which advertised an event for their chosen celebration. At the end of the session, the group presented their work and shared their research findings with the rest of the group.

Young people researching various celebrations

Sound Wave

This week at Sound Wave, we welcomed some new young people to Knowle West Media Centre and we also had some familiar faces return. In our 10 – 16 group, we went over what we do at Sound Wave. This meant young people were able to try out different instruments in a group jam and then use ‘Soundtrap‘ loops to create their own piece of music and share it with the group.

In Sound Wave +, we looked at writing a song from a group jam and then continuing to refine or add sections to it as we progressed throughout the section. The young people really showed off their creativity after writing something in under an hour and the exciting part is that this is only the foundation of what they will be working on in the coming weeks.

Check out the video below to see Jump Studios in action!

If you want to find out more about how young people can get involved in any of our programmes, click ‘here‘ to find our registration form!

Our End Of Term Wrap Up

April 25, 2022 by Cashell Smith

At Jump, we believe in looking after ourselves as well as looking after each other. The ‘5 steps of Mental Health and Wellbeing’ have helped guide the winter-spring term at Jump Studios. These 5 steps are: give, connect, keep learning, take notice and be active.

We know how important it is for young people to keep learning and exploring topics around mental health and wellbeing so we have been spreading awareness around the 5 steps and using each one to drive creativity and design throughout our sessions.

Sound Wave

This term in Sound Wave, we have been exploring songwriting, inspiration and collaboration. We have seen some amazing work from the young people and we have really noticed their confidence grow throughout the term. We have a range of interests and tastes which has resulted in an amazing selection of great music. Some have taken to creating music on software such as Sound Trap, Garage Band and Logic Pro and some have used the range of instruments to jam with others and create songs for the first time.

Through these discussions about the ‘5 Steps of Mental Health and Wellbeing’, we were able to get some insights into the importance of having a safe creative space for them to come to each week. This has been demonstrated by the supportive atmosphere the young people have created, as well as the work they have created.

Youth Council

We have started running our Youth Council sessions with the new 2022 cohort. We understand how important it is that local young people get their voices heard and with the new Youth Council committee they are willing to use their voices to start making positive change!

We have been communicating with the wider Knowle West community and the young people have been working with re:CREATE Filwood, Play:Disrupt and the wider ‘KWMC‘ organisation to help drive change and make real-life community decisions.

Control Alt Delete

The young people have demonstrated a lot of creativity throughout the term and have been willing to explore new technologies that they may have not used before. They have been trying out a range of different tech that includes VR, coding with Spheros even creating their own face filters using P5 coding. We have also seen some incredible 3D designs using Tinkercad where they have created their own gaming worlds. Along with this, they created their own characters for their gaming world, digitally drawing them using Sketchbook or Pixel art.

Creative Hub

Creative Hub used the 5 steps to inspire their own personal creative projects.

While learning new creative tech skills the young people continued with the theme of ‘Keep Learning’ while they researched new topics that they felt curious about. They used this research to help guide their personal creative projects. Gathering new information through self-led research and channelling their new ideas and knowledge through different creative vices.

Some of the sessions focused on the idea of ‘Giving’ where we thought about the people we cared about and made them gifts using the sticker making machine. ‘Be Active’ was channelled through animation and the concept of movement as expression. Throughout all of our sessions, we make sure that the group starts with an active, tangible exercise to get everyone’s brains and bodies moving to help inspire their creative juices.

We successfully included all of our themes in the sessions and had a really positive response from the young people.

Young people learning stop motion animation

Maker City

This term at Maker City we have been busy delivering a programme alongside the curriculum at ‘KnowleDGE‘ (a local school down the road from ‘KWMC‘). The students have tried their hand at designing laser cut and vinyl objects they have been fascinated with 3D design and have learnt some new 3D design skills using Tinkercad and Thingiverse. This proved useful when taking part in STEM-in-Action activities where they designed and built a bridge out of spaghetti! The young people also took part in creating Sphero mazes, and carefully engineered a parachute to protect their eggs in the famous Maker City Egg Drop!

Combining Maker City with assessments alongside the school curriculum has allowed the young people to express their creativity, learn lots of new STEAM skills and have the chance to talk about social issues that matter to them. It has enabled a different perspective on how you can combine STEAM, product design and creativity all whilst completing assessment criteria.

Maker City Industry

The participants have been taking part in live project work alongside mentors from ‘Arup’, ‘Arcadis‘ and ‘Mott Macdonald‘. The projects the young people got to work on were: Ensuring accessible transport for the “Youth Zones” project, prototyping houses for Better Lives at Home, and How Sustainability is considered in businesses when designing homes. Maker City Industry is a space for young people to gain real-world experience and insight into how some of the most influential construction organisations create change and make things happen in Bristol and Beyond!

Young person creating designs on Tinkercad

We are readying up for the next term as we focus on the celebration of community, which is dear to our hearts!

If you want to find out more about how young people can get involved in any of our programmes, click ‘here‘ to find our registration form!

‘Our Space’ Celebration Event

April 13, 2022 by Megan Ballin

Last month, we ran the ‘Our Space’ celebration event at Knowle West Media Centre. The event celebrated the new artwork created by Yoli Ward-Streeter on the railings outside the media centre on Leinster Avenue to welcome the community inside.

Yoli collaborated with the young people of Jump Studios to create the beautiful artwork and at the celebration event, we invited friends and family down to the media centre to celebrate with refreshments and music performances.

Young people performing for friends and family

The young people co-led the event to showcase their musical talent and share their work that they have been rehearsing and practising over this term at ‘Sound Wave’.

The young people had the chance to share their creative personal projects with their parents and other members of the community. They took ownership of their space and their achievements, the energy was incredible and there was a real sense of pride and inspiration while we celebrated.

Our Space was such an exciting project to be part of, not only through collaborating with the young people but as an artist, I was given an enormous amount of creative freedom and support throughout the project.
Yoli Ward-Streeter

If you get the opportunity, please come down to the media centre and check out the new artwork on display and if you would like any updates you can follow us on Instagram or Twitter.