MTF Sparks

Music is a fantastic way to teach engineering, design, coding and technical skills to young innovators. At Music Tech Fest we run creative workshops that explore sound, physical computing, creativity, science and making with kids and teens, guided by specialist experts and run in a way that is fun and engaging first and foremost - as well as being educational.

Since 2014, MTF has included workshops, kids hack and labs for bright young sparks. Working with professional educators, authors of the UK Computer Science curriculum for high schools, and pioneering workshop leaders like Helen Leigh, author of The Crafty Kids Guide to DIY Electronics, #MTFSparks (12-16 years) provide fun and educational activities during the public weekend festival events.

Projects have included making a jelly Theremin - which is played, then eaten; creating a science fiction B-movie where aliens from different planets show off their own unique musical styles; crafting a playable electric guitar from wood, wire and simple circuits; and programming sensor-driven musical objects with microcomputer boards.

Participants are not only taught how to make things and how they work, they are also coached to present a performance using their inventions on the main festival stage to build their confidence and communication skills. These have long been a highlight of the festival and those performances not only cement the learning, but inspire enthusiasm and passion for combining technology with creativity - a vital skill for the future.

MTF Sparks always focuses on a theme which aims to solve one of the UN Grand Societal Challenges, and develops learning that synthesises STEAM topics. MTF will develop the theme in conjunction with Aveiro Tech City.

 

1-day event programme schedule

 

  • Welcome! What is MTF Sparks? Sparks Stories from different EU countries
  • Showcase of amazing and inspiring projects by international Experts
  • Today we will.. Briefing the participants on the day’s activities
  • Learning about physical properties of sound
  • Learning about digital technologies
  • Building stories around technologies and creating things
  • Building a performance
  • Performance Time!

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