First, Noisy Toys has a new website. Have a look for news of our playful, hands-on work with making, technology, creativity and communities.
Mick has now finished his PhD, Pump up the Jam: Facilitating participant collaboration and agency in creating code based retro games. It explores family game-making, programming and inclusive learning. You can find out more, and explore some of the work, at pump.jamm-labs.org.uk.
It was also a busy summer for Noisy Toys and Scavenger Labs at festivals. At Deer Shed Festival we created what may have been our best installation yet, with an amazing team of around 35 volunteers helping on site. We also returned to the Blackburn Festival of Making, where we brought Unmaking: taking things apart, exploring how they work, and finding creative possibilities in discarded technology and materials.
The Makery and Noisy Toys continue to take up much of our time, but we are also looking at how we can share more of the ideas, methods and resources developed through this work. More updates soon.