First, we worked with fantastic Year 5 pupils from New Bolsover Primary to create light boxes inspired by their trip to Bolsover Castle. They spent a day discovering the Castle and learning to use a DSLR camera to take photographs. Focussing on the unique architectural details, artist Cora Glasser and digital technologist Claire Garside encouraged the girls to capture how they felt about this striking landmark they see each day as they walk to school. Back in the classroom, the pupils built on the CodeBug skills they had learnt the previous year (see This Girl Codes 2017) by using GlowBugs to illuminate their lightboxes in beautiful colours. Using images from their trip, writing and drawings, they collaged the front of lightboxes to create contemporary pieces of art.

Later in 2018, we worked with Cora Glasser and Claire Garside to engage Year 9 pupils from Bolsover School, and held community workshops at Bolsover Assembly Rooms. The participants learnt about the accomplishments of two influential Bolsover women, Margaret Cavendish and Florence Sykes, creating ‘a love note to Bolsover’ that took the form of digital roses. The petals of the roses held messages of hope, friendship and strength, while the stems were lit by LEDs driven by environmental sensors. At the time of the workshops the girls worked with innovative tech, including an Envirosense board on a CodeBug of which there were only 15 in the world. In September 2018 we held an exclusive event at Bolsover Castle for participants, their family and friends, funders and partners. This showcase event saw an amazing interaction between the roses and Bolsover Castle, as the sensors and GPS tracking triggered a light and sound show. A temporary rose garden was created in the 17th century Venus Garden, eliciting a great sense of wonder and pride from everyone in attendance.