HELP US RAISE A MILLION
Our kids, our communities, our country have never needed creativity more. But schools are flat out and flat broke.
So we’re on a mission to inspire a Million Kids to Aim Higher Than High, powered by Creativity and Community.
Watch the Shropshire #OurMIllion22 campaign launch film below
Who cares?
If you and/or your organisation care about Creativity, Children and All Our Futures, you’re what we call ‘Creative Carers’ and we hope you will support this appeal in one of the following ways:
Chip in a quid or more here
Pledge a pound (and get a free cardboard modelling kit) here
Sponsor one of our trucks through your company here
Gift creativity with one of our cardboard modelling kits - here
There’s more info about the #OurMillion22 appeal and how we want to spend the money here
SHROPSHIRE TO CORNWALL
Having visited in John O’Groats at the start of the year to #Ignite22 a #CreativityRevolution22 across the UK, after our #Shropshire22 week we went off to Land’s End for #Cornwall22 and had a great piece on the BBC 6 O’Clock News as you can see here:
A School Day Like No other
Click here to read this article in The Shropshire Star
School children at St Lawrence Primary in Church Stretton had a school day like no other on Monday 14th March when STEAM Co. visited to both help launch Science Week and a nationwide campaign to Raise a Million Quids to Inspire a Million Kids.
Born and bred in Ludlow, STEAM Co's Nick Corston said:
"We're looking for creative carers, people and organisations. who will chip in a quid to help us get up to 22 of our Pop Up Creativity Day Drop Trucks on the road this year to run sessions free of charge both in schools and at community events"
Listen to Nick’s chat with Adam Green on BBC Radio Shropshire here
He showed the truck in action by helping staff and children at St Lawrence Primary run a Mission To Mars day with an all school assembly live streamed to classes and family homes as if on a cardboard Mars base camp in the school playground.
Classes then made and fired paper air rockets over 200 feet in the air, coded BBC Micro:bits, made a cardboard planet Mars model and designed #ILoveArt logos to be printed onto t-shirts and posters as part of a million portrait display.
“STEAM Co’s Mission to Mars session today connected with the whole school community" said Mr Alan Brannen - Headteacher at St Lawrence Primary. "The children were inspired by some amazing role models in art and science, the teachers enjoyed leading the range of creative activities on offer and our parents/carers really enjoyed seeing and being part of the assembly”
A MUM LIKE ANY OTHER
Mum and grandma Di Corston helps children make paper air rockets at Ludlow Junior School iin 2017
Nick this week recognised his mother as part of his inspiration to start STEAM Co. ten years ago as she ran a summer arts and crafts play scheme in Ludlow for over twenty years, with his dad Peter Corston who was also a town, district and county councillor.
Recently discharged from Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Diana sadly passed away on Tuesday 15th March and Nick is keen that the first truck be located in Shropshire as part of her legacy to the lads and lasses of the county.
"My mum didn't see herself as an artist or a creative but was the best example of what we all have in us and how we can all collaborate with schools via STEAM Co. Days to inspire children with creativity" said Nick
Listen above to Nick chatting to BBC Radio Shropshire on NYE 2022 about being chosen as one of the #BBC’s #100Londoners and how his parents inspired him. See article in the Shropshire Star here too.
WHAT’S IN A MILLION?
Back in January we launched this appeal in John O’Groats on a UK tour there and back.
We want to ‘Raise a Million Quids to Inspire a Million Kids to Aim Higher than High’ powered by their Creativity and Our Communities.
We want to put up to 22 of our Pop-Up Creativity Day Drop Trucks on the road to help run creativity sessions in schools for free, with the first in Shropshire, the home country of STEAM Co. Co-founder Nick Corston who is from the nearby town of Ludlow, where his father was a town, district and county councillor and who started and ran a summer arts and crafts summer play scheme for twent years ago in the 1980’swith his mother who sadly passed away the day after Nick visited St Lawrence Primary.
This will all be part of the Year long #Ignite22🔥 Festival of Creativity in School Communities and STEAM Co. also want to run a weekend community arts festival in the autumn in Shropshire at an amazing site we’ve been offered use of.
Inspired by how Elon Musk wants to take a million kids to Mars in 30 years, we want to bring Mars to Shropshire this year in the form of a millionth scale model artwork of the red planet by artist Luke Jerram’s imaginative ability to combine art, science and play, showing us that (in his own words) “anything is possible”.
WILL YOU CHIP IN?
We hope you will support this appeal in one of the following ways:
Chip in a quid or more here
Pledge a pound (and get a free cardboard modelling kit) here
Sponsor one of our trucks through your company here
Gift creativity with one of our cardboard modelling kits - here
There’s more info about the #OurMillion22 appeal and how we want to spend the money here
The POP-UP CREATIVITY DAY DROP TRUCK
We’re on a mission to raise a million to start to get up to 22 of our Pop-Up Creativity Day Drop Trucks with STEAMsters on the road in 2022.
Each truck contains everything needed to run one of our creativity days in a school:
Rocket making
Cardboard modelling
Newspaper engineering
T-shirt printing
Ukuleles
Micro:bits
Bubble wands
Clip boards
Lego Architecture
Graphic design
Magazine design
Inventing activity
Etc Etc
Ignite22🔥 Festivals
We also want to run a few community art festivals around the UK around Luke Jerram’s ‘Mars’ artwork and have already found beautiful, brilliant sites in Shropshire and Cornwall.
We just need to raise that million.
Check the film here of the day Nick popped along to see Luke’s ‘Musuem of the Moon’ at the Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival.
THE MISSION TO MARS 22 TOUR
These whole or half days sessions consist of:
All school assembly - live/live streamed streamed (depending on covid protocol in place) to classes in hall or bubbles and family homes from a green studio as if on a cardboard Mars base we'll appear to build in the school playing field
Creative Activities - rocket making, cardboard modelling, #ILoveArt logo design
Real dynamite rocket launch - at home time to send the whole community home buzzing
For more info and a downloadable flyer click here
Check out the film below of one of our Mission To Mars 22 Tour sessions, at Hornden on the Hill Primary in Essex in collaboration with the Arts Council England funded Royal Opera House Bridge Trailblazer project in Thurrock.
BOOK A MISSION TO MARS Session for your school
We can visit any primary or secondary school, any where in the UK to deliver our Mission to Mars session.
See film above
Click here for more info
STEAM Co. IN SHROPSHIRE
We’ve worked with a few schools in Shropshire over the years, including one at Nick’s old school in Ludlow and ran a big launch event at th ebirthplace of the first Industrial Revolution in Ironbrdge.
See films below: