For Alton Arts Festival, I worked with around 800 children across secondary, primary, early years and home education settings, creating playful learning experiences that brought together art, science, engineering and a lot of experimentation.

At Eggar’s School, Year 7 and Year 8 students explored making, materials and design through paper sculpture, junk modelling and wire. They reimagined spaces and places in Alton, experimented with structure and pattern, and built Art Bots, simple robots that could draw, spin and create unexpected marks.

Across Bentley, Bentworth, Selborne, Anstey, Medstead and Wootey Primary Schools, I took over whole-school spaces with hands-on making. Children designed spinning Art Bots, drawing robots and their own weird and wonderful inventions, learning through testing, adapting and trying again.

The best part was hearing children make their own connections between subjects. One described it as “science art”, while another said, “This is art where you have to try and try again.”

I also delivered Light Lab activities for early years and home education groups, bringing in light, technology and more opportunities to play, explore and invent