So I'm starting my new job on Tuesday next week. I'm super excited to move into a new career and see what it's like to be a full-time Web Developer. I need to figure out how to get to the center of Aberdeen from out in the sticks of Udny Station each day. It's either bus all the way or park and rides part of the way. I might have to get my old mountain bike running again and take up cycling part of the way too. Anyway, that's next week.
Looking back now, this post feels like one of the earliest examples of how much I enjoyed combining creativity, making, teaching, and technology.
At the time it simply felt like a fun Udny Designs project with Jamie. But it also reflected something deeper about learning through building things with your hands.
Building Robot Kits in the Shed
Jamie and I have been busy with Udny Designs over the past couple of weeks. We have been bombing around Aberdeenshire building robots with kid's holiday clubs. We had made simple-to-construct kits in the shed along with small wooden hammers and put all the parts in little zip-lock bags. We made 50 in total and had a good production line going on in the house.
Teaching Kids Through Making
Tuesday and Wednesday last week we found ourselves in Banff and Peterhead in local schools. The classes had about 8 to 10 kids, and we would step by step take them through the construction of their individual robots. Starting with adding the googly eyes to the head, then with the hammer and lots of noise, banging adding the neck to the head, and then to the body. A pair of legs and feet had them standing up, then shoulders and arms had them waving or impersonating Superman. We had printed off some stickers and each kit included a couple of body, arms, and head stickers. We had even made little stickers for the kits which made the whole thing feel very official.
Then this week we did another 3 classes in Inverurie, Stonehaven, and Fraserburgh.
Why the Workshops Felt So Rewarding
I have to say that every class was great fun and left me with a real sense of achievement. All the kids had additional needs so being able to let them build and take home a robot that they had made them selfs felt great.
Creativity and Confidence
There were lots of questions from the kids about what else they could make when we came back. I look forward to doing some more classes later in the year. Possibly reindeer kits nearer Christmas.Discovering CivTech and Startups
In other news, I went to a meet-up of the Aberdeen Entrepreneur Club at The Hub in Bridge of Don. There were two presentations. The first is some dragon's den-like pitches from some of the current cohorts running through the Elevator program at the hub. There were 5 of the 15 currently taking part. It's a 12-week program and they are now in week 6. It was great to see interesting new businesses in the making. And for me, they all needed tech and software to help them get fully started.
The other presentation was on CivTech North. I attended a CivTech meet-up last year in Edinburgh so am familiar with the concept. Basically, the public sector has come up with problems that need creative input to resolve. 8 problems in total are selected and made public. People and businesses are invited to try to solve the problems by submitting a description of how they plan to solve the problem. If selected they are given £3000 and given 3 weeks to explore their idea and create a demo. If successful they get through to the next stage and are given £17,000 and an additional 15 weeks to create something that meets its MVP (Minimal Viable Product). If all goes well and the solution is selected to go to the product stage, additional funding ( I wrote down £100K but am not sure about this) and time is provided to create a full product.
The only catch I can see is that the public sector gets to use the product royalty-free (covering material costs) but you are free to keep the product and sell it to the public.
The one I remember from the Edinburgh meet-up (I may have mentioned it before) was to help the tourism on the A9 after it is dual ed from Perth to Inverness.
The guys I met had come up with a tourist App that would suggest points of interest on the journey... restaurants, hotels, etc that people could visit on route. The last I heard of this project the guys were adapting their app to cover Route 66 in the USA.
The other presentation was on CivTech North. I attended a CivTech meet-up last year in Edinburgh so am familiar with the concept. Basically, the public sector has come up with problems that need creative input to resolve. 8 problems in total are selected and made public. People and businesses are invited to try to solve the problems by submitting a description of how they plan to solve the problem. If selected they are given £3000 and given 3 weeks to explore their idea and create a demo. If successful they get through to the next stage and are given £17,000 and an additional 15 weeks to create something that meets its MVP (Minimal Viable Product). If all goes well and the solution is selected to go to the product stage, additional funding ( I wrote down £100K but am not sure about this) and time is provided to create a full product.
The only catch I can see is that the public sector gets to use the product royalty-free (covering material costs) but you are free to keep the product and sell it to the public.
The one I remember from the Edinburgh meet-up (I may have mentioned it before) was to help the tourism on the A9 after it is dual ed from Perth to Inverness.
The guys I met had come up with a tourist App that would suggest points of interest on the journey... restaurants, hotels, etc that people could visit on route. The last I heard of this project the guys were adapting their app to cover Route 66 in the USA.
Looking Back at the Bigger Picture
Reading this back now, it’s interesting how many themes that still matter to me today were already appearing here — creativity, learning, making, technology, entrepreneurship, and helping people build confidence through practical projects.
At the time it simply felt like a busy and exciting few weeks before starting a new career in technology.
At the time it simply felt like a busy and exciting few weeks before starting a new career in technology.
A lot of the same themes around creativity and building things also appear in my post about having the maker’s itch.
Looking back, many of the same ideas around learning through making probably started with things like LEGO Technic.
The connection between creativity, imagination, and practical learning also links closely to my reflections on visual thinking.
Looking back, projects like this reminded me how powerful creativity and hands-on learning can be — especially when people get the chance to build something themselves.
A lot of the same curiosity around making, technology, systems, and problem solving still shapes many of the projects and ideas I continue to explore today.
You can explore more of those projects and reflections here.