Students from a range of Confetti courses supported the annual celebration that takes science, technology, engineering and maths out of the lab and into everyday lives.
The Festival of Science and Curiosity is an annual series of events organised by a local education charity called Ignite! The Festival focuses on developing the skills, insights and confidence of communities, enabling them to respond to the challenges and opportunities of our rapidly changing world. This year the Festival ran from Monday 7 February to Wednesday 16 February, it featured a fantastic range of science-related activities and workshops during the half term in local libraries and venues such as Wollaton Hall, Broadway Cinema, Lakeside Arts and Mansfield Museum.
This year’s Festival benefitted significantly from the contributions of our Confetti students on a wide range of courses.
Our Graphics and Digital Design students worked tirelessly on producing a new and improved Festival magazine for children aged 7-11 years which includes interesting articles, fun activities, puzzles and exciting experiments. The Festival of Science and Curiosity magazine aims to inspire children, familiarise them with science-related topics and most importantly help local scientists communicate their research to local children.
We asked Confetti students why they wanted to get involved in the project and what they took away from the experience:
“I saw it as a platform not only to develop my understanding of editorial design in a real-life setting, but also as a way to educate children on the impact we have on the world around us.” – Lily Banks, Year 2 Graphics & Digital Design – BTEC Level 3
“I wanted to get involved as I am passionate about graphic design, and this was a chance for me to utilise my illustration skills. The placement has improved my confidence a lot, I gained valuable experience in a working environment, and I have become well adapted to working in a team.” – Sophia Bensalem, Year 2 Graphics & Digital Design – BTEC Level 3
“The work was fun and intriguing – I had to use a lot of creativity to make sure the work I was producing fit the design brief. My skills as a whole have definitely improved and I’ve got some experience in a new workplace environment. I’ve also improved in my time management, creative thinking and physical art performance. I’ve had an amazing time at Ignite! and the opportunity was a great start to my future career as a graphic designer.” – Jay Robinson, Year 1 FdA Graphics and Digital Design
This year’s Festival featured “The Curiosity Show”, a series of five 1-hour long shows broadcasting live on Notts TV as well as Facebook Live and Twitch. The broadcast was made possible thanks to the support of our Music and Media students.
Confetti Film and TV Production students produced media packages ahead of time to air in-between the live broadcast segments and many were part of the Notts TV crew capturing content each day. You’d think that’d be enough right? Nope, there’s more! First year Level 3 VFX and Animation student, Samuel Marshall, created a great title sequence for the show whilst our Audio and Music Tech students only went and made a cracking theme song!
Find out what the opportunity meant to our students:
“Working on this project provided me with great insight into the various styles and techniques other producers implement into their work and it was a great opportunity to work alongside some excellent producers.” – Alex White, Year 3 BSc Audio & Music Tech
“Working with the team for the soundtrack was really exciting, it was good to see how quick the tracks came together! It’s definitely something I would love to do again.” – Fabian Fox, Year 3 BSc Audio & Music Tech
“The Festival of Science and Curiosity gave me the opportunity to collaborate on music with individuals I wouldn’t have had chance to otherwise. It was fun to work outside of my comfort zone on music I wouldn’t have normally tried to write, whilst sharing and learning new techniques with others.” – Bradley Cooper, Year 3 BSc Audio & Music Tech
VFX Title Sequence:
The Curiosity Show was broadcast 4 – 5pm each day from Monday 7 to Friday 11 February. The programmes featured live science demonstrations, interviews and fun try-at-home activities for the whole family. To learn more about The Curiosity Show, visit the Festival website.
Read what the Festival’s organisers thought about our students:
“Students from Confetti have contributed so much to this year’s Festival of Science and Curiosity, especially our children’s science television programme, The Curiosity Show.
A group of undergraduate music production students created a real earworm of a theme tune for the show, combining brass sounds, electronic beats and even recordings of children’s voices saying ‘The Curiosity Show’. Another student worked with the music to create the graphics for the opening titles, really leaning into the use of the question mark to create a playful piece that epitomises what the show’s all about. The programme features video content from a wide range of researchers, and we have been helped by Confetti students to edit the videos so they’re ready for broadcast.
The hard work, enthusiasm and talent of Confetti students has been so important to the Festival once again this year, and we’re so grateful to them all.” – Megan Shore, Programmes Manager for Ignite Futures Ltd
Are you interested in studying Graphics and Digital Design, Music Technology, TV, Film or VFX Production at college or degree level? Would you like to get hands-on work experience as part of your studies? Book onto an open day to find out more about all the opportunities on offer here at Confetti.
