We began the Easter Holidays this month by hosting a three-day Hackathon workshop in our space for young people in Paisley. This free event, like all our weekly free youth club activities, was an opportunity for young people to engage in digital youth work to develop their interest in STEM and digital skills while engaging with others.
In each of our three sold-out sessions, the young people were split into teams and given the task of presenting a digital project to combat issues affecting our world today such as the environment, endangered species, improved safety for young people and preservation of resources. The first day they planned and developed their projects with their concepts and ideas down on paper. The second day they put those plans into motion, digitally developing their ideas into a solid concept. On the final day, each group presented their projects to the rest of the groups, explaining in detail their innovative solution to natural issues.
We finished the project with their presentations and celebration of the Easter season, complete with creativity, friendship and pizza (made possible due to a generous donation from WL Gore).
When asked their favourite part of the hackathon, the responses included “coding”, “problem solving” “talking while doing the presentations”, “coming up with ideas for the game” hanging out” and “the food”. Further feedback included;
“I really liked presenting and hearing other people’s ideas. I liked seeing other people’s creativity.”
“I enjoyed the hackathon and would like to do another. The questions really stretched my brain and made me think.”
“I had a good time!”
“Yeah, I would really enjoy another Hackathon!”
“I enjoyed speaking in front of people.”
“I enjoyed this Hackathon a lot because I had the opportunity to meet other people and design fun things.”
It is always our goal and ambition to provide young people with a safe and fun environment where they can learn, grow and develop their interest in all things digital and STEM. And during the school holidays, it’s important to create opportunities for young people to access free workshops and sessions that allow them to spend time with their friends, try something new and enjoy healthy snacks during time away from school. We are very proud of what our young people have accomplished at this Hackathon, and we hope to host more in the future to see even more of their abilities.
We will be closed during the Easter weekend Friday to Monday and will re-open our doors on Tuesday 11th with new free STEM-focused Easter activities next week from Tuesday onwards. For more information and to register, please check our official Eventbrite page. We wish you all a very happy and safe Easter weekend from all of us at Paisley YMCA!