Kids enjoy immersive storytelling as borough gears up for Science Summer School

Hosted by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, the project kicked off at the end of June with pupils from Whitehead Primary School, who participated in a storytelling session with Vicky McFarland from Tale Time.

Students from the school’s nursery unit and Key Stage 1 classes undertook an immersive storytelling experience within the portable ‘story dome’.

Combining live performance, with projected immersive environments of local beauty spots, animation and sensory experiences, the show aims to engage and delight the young students.

Local storyteller and Tale Time founder Vicky developed the enchanting experience with a team from Ulster University’s animation and gaming departments and backed by ACNI and Future Screens.

She also took part in the council’s ‘SPARK’ programme earlier in the year to help develop her business idea and reach new markets.

Through the programme, she was able to access tailored advice and mentoring.

Vicky said: “I was matched with a mentor who supported me with general start and grow support. I knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted to achieve but struggled to identify my priorities to achieve my goals. My mentor helped me to navigate the business world and break each step down to a manageable level.

"The programme was flexible and I was able to complete the mentoring around my other commitments, allowing me to learn at my own pace.”

‘SPARK’ provides free specialist mentoring support to businesses across the borough who are in their early stages of development.

Tailored to people’s own individual needs, the programme provides support and assistance to new businesses and social enterprises as they navigate the business environment.

To find out more about SPARK and the Science Summer School initiative, visit www.midandeastantrim.gov.uk, where you can register your interest and a member of the team will be in touch to discuss.

You can also email [email protected] or phone 028 2563 3363.

The Science Summer School will culminate in a flagship event on January 23, 2024, when Professor Cox will be joining pupils from across the borough for another fun-filled day of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) based workshops, presentations, fascinating facts and more.

In the months leading up to January, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council will host exciting school competitions with out of this world prizes and hands on school engagement opportunities for pupils and businesses in the borough to come together, showcasing career opportunities and creating invaluable links between education and employment.

The Science Summer School initiative was established in 2012 at St. Paul’s Way Trust School in East London by Professor Brian Cox CBE and Lord Andrew Mawson OBE, with the aim of making ‘the UK the best place to do science and engineering in the world".

Mid and East Antrim hosted its first Science Summer School event in November 2022, with a further series of school engagement activities across the year.