With schools now returning and the Easter season behind us, we had a great time during our Easter Eggstravaganza programme run in the past two weeks at Paisley YMCA. These sessions took place during the day in respite of some very wet weather to offer young people the chance to participate in Spring and Easter themed activity during the Easter holidays.
In our first Spring into Science session, our young people planted smart gardens which are now proudly displayed in the front of our space. These gardens grow resources such as tomatoes and basil herbs showcasing the importance and sustainability in growing their own food as a great way to live a healthy lifestyle and help the environment. In the following session, we investigated the make-up of human and animal blood cells and created our own blood cells with names and functions!
In our Crackin’ Code Club Friday sessions, the young people created a themed scratch project that involved working with some bulky and complex code to create an Easter game. On our Monday Easter Eggscape session, our young people were tasked with an Easter puzzle hunt around our space with clues and puzzles to solve to find the final answer. Our winning team were awarded a special prize, and all our young people received some Easter chocolate for taking part.
Throughout all these sessions, we were provided with lunchtime platters of sandwiches, cakes and fruit from Scott McGinlay Catering due to the generous funding from Cash for Kids (West of Scotland).
When asked if they enjoyed the programme, all our attendees answered yes. When we asked which activity was their favourite, some of them responded;
“I enjoyed the coding. It let me express myself.”
“I enjoyed the scavenger hunt a lot.”
“My favourite was the STEM activities.”
My favourite was the coding.”
“There’s nowhere like this in Paisley.”
While we offer free and educational STEM activity throughout the school term, we also believe in the importance of offering young people a place where they can feel welcomed and valued during the holidays. It is a free space that offers not just education and support from our youth workers but a chance to find new friendships in a space free from the pressures they may face during school time, while also providing healthy food and snacks with a few sweet treats as well. It also allows them to build their STEM capital and gain valuable skills and knowledge. A space like this is fundamental for young people’s development and we are honoured to provide it in our organisation.
Information about our current club activity and how to sign up for it can be found here on our Eventbrite page. Updates and information about club activity can be found on our social media platforms such as Twitter (X), Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram.