Cloud Machine
In November 2017 we began our This Girl Codes journey with artist Rachel Carter and creative technologist Claire Garside. We worked with Year 5 pupils from New Bolsover Primary School to produce light sculptures that were installed at Bolsover Castle during Junction Arts’ Bright Winter Nights festival. The sculptures took inspiration from the 1634 Masque held at the Castle, where a ‘Cloud Machine’ was made to lower actors playing the part of cherubs from the heavens down to the Castle grounds. Rachel Carter carefully guided participants through making the willow structures, with each group adding their own creative variations to the chosen theme.
Inside the sculptures, the girls explored algorithms with CodeBugs and LED ColourStars. Claire Garside skilfully instructed the group on how to reprogram the equipment with their own designs. These were placed inside the finished sculpture to create the final effect. The session covered a range of skills including problem-solving with peer-to-peer support, pupil-teacher mentoring, coding and creativity.
‘This trip made me have more passion in art. It was so cool. It gives girls a chance to do what they love. This Girl Codes is something I would recommend to people around the world. We learned some coding, computing, history and art. I would do it again’
Year 5 Pupil