This year, Global Generation obtained funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, allowing us to explore the Universe Story through the lens of the 'Stories for a Better World' project. Combining this 14 billion year old story (the oldest there is!) with cultural creation stories, we have been using the plight of the bees as a catalyst to demonstrate the need for more environmental responsibility as well as a shared cosmic vision for our young people.

Our Big Bang Ambassadors have taken part in workshops with the British Library, Global Generation's beekeeper Brian and some special guests at the Skip Garden - Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Swimme 

This year's Summer School was a very special one as Global Generation brought theatre into the Skip Garden for the first time. The two weeks culminated in a performance by our young people, scripted and created by them, using the whole garden as their stage.

For more details about what happened during the two weeks, check out our dedicated blog:  http://bigbangsummerschool.wordpress.com/

On 27 February, Silvia Pedretti and I, representing Global Generation’s 'Universe Story' work, travelled to St John's Primary School in Wallingford, Oxford. This was going to be a 'Film and 100 Word Challenge' Day, writes Rod Sugden.

We started off the day with an assembly, and four of the Big Bang Ambassadors read out their 100-word pieces on what inspired them about the Universe Story. The Ambassadors did a great job in expressing their passion for the story and modelling to the whole school what their job was for the day.


Next, Jo Prince, the Year 6 teacher who had organized the day, chose eight of her best writers to work with me on a freefall writing session. First, we used 'values cards' to explore and discuss different aspects and qualities of the Universe. In this exercise, we tried to imagine if we were the Universe, what qualities or values might we have.

The group were terrific in their listening, responding and enthusiasm for the topic. When it came to the freefall writing, they all wrote beautifully and passionately about the Universe Story, which we are discovering more and more that we are an inherent part of.

In the meantime, Silvia was helping the Big Bang Ambassador filmmakers to write a storyboard and record interviews for their film "Our Universe Story" which will take part in a children’s film festival. The Oxford Times has written about the festival in an article called "Pupils create their own film".

"How can we represent the big bang without using computer images or special effects?” asked Silvia. “We can film all the kids in the assembly jumping up into the air!” said Poppy. “Let's do it!” replied Silvia.

After their morning break, the group split into two and became the 'experts' who would help the other classes with their own freefall writing. They were great, supportive role models, and, together with each teacher’s leadership and guidance, all the classes produced brilliant, amazing work. Here are two examples of their writing:

"Peaceful. That was the only word I could use to describe it with. I was surrounded by a deep sea of nothingness. In my mind I could see mysterious objects swimming through my invisible sea. I could imagine people crawling through trenches, communicating with each other. I could see animals in trees, on the ground and under the earth. I could see disaster and worry, but also happiness and forgiveness.

And then throughout time, they came to be. Planets and stars, and you and me. The men fought for themselves, the women at home, beautiful and radiant: like my creation, the universe.”

Leila Townsend, Year 6

“BOOM! In the beginning there was no time or space. I felt lonely and bursting with creativity. Every night I would dream of life. I could see trees swaying in the crisp summer air. The glistening, life giving sun blazing in cyan sky. Foam tranquil waves splashing on soft golden sand. Birds soaring above the world. No longer should darkness roam these parts. I was starting my journey to life, my creative side had been released through the universe. I did it. Boom!” 

Fernando Riazor Rodriguez, Year 5

The children, inspired by Jennifer Morgan's books, also recorded some voiceovers for incredible animations that will be included in their film. The children, inspired by Jennifer Morgan's books, also recorded some voiceovers for incredible animations that will be included in their film. \
What I found really encouraging and inspiring was that right across St John's, the children's writing and film has really captured many of the mysteries and wonders of the Universe that they are very much a part of. And hopefully they will take this wonder and excitement with them wherever they may go... for now and the future! And, of course, fingers crossed for the red carpet!

The Global Generation team, Rod Sugden, Manpreet Dhatt, Cristina Torrente, Will Atkinson and I have just returned from four incredible days with the staff and children at St John’s school. 

What was particularly exciting about the week was that Head teacher, Jane Ratcliffe, had taken the bold and exciting decision to use the Universe Story as the overarching theme for the year. The aim is to use this big story to inspire and bring together the many different aspects of the curriculum. The key outcomes we hoped to achieve for the start of the project were for the children to:

1. know the universe story as scientists are now telling it

2. become universe story tellers by expressing the story as their own story  

3. begin to connect their own values with the characteristics of the universe

Above all we wanted to provide experiences that would encourage a spirit of questioning.

Global Generation spent two days of preparation with the teachers last term and it was to be a surprise for all of the children ... young and old were ready go ! 

Special thanks to Dave Hall from the Guardian for creating such a great timeline for this website ... check it out !

3-2-1 Blast Off - The Universe Story project has begun

Now the project has well and truly begun with St John's primary school in Wallingford, Oxfordshire and Global Generation's Big Bang Ambassadors in London, I am posting two earlier news stories that were posted on the Global Generation website, to give readers an idea of how the project started

Despite the inevitable Saturday brownie camps and football games, many parents and their children showed up – eager to see what their children had been up to. A third time line, of baked goodies was laid out in the hall; pancake planets, super nova shortbread, big bang beetroot brownies. Parents were given a passport which guided them along the rope to different corners of the school grounds, where each of the classes shared the activities from the week. Year five and six also treated us to a dramatic performance of the big bang and the creation of stars and planets.

A hearting closure to the week was speaking with parents. They shared what the project meant to them:

I think it’s amazing what you’ve achieved in just a few days. When we picked up our kids on the first day they were so enthusiastic. When he got home my son spent an hour and a half researching the Big Bang and then brought it into school to share, which is unbelievable for him. The free writing doesn’t inhibit them it means they can just go. Reading all the poems with the science in them and the imagination it’s just so impressive – Parent and Secondary School Science Teacher

“The quality of the writing is fantastic, it’s very moving. The sense of the silence before it all started comes across in the writing. “ – Parent

I think what is truly inspirational is the concept behind the project, the idea of giving children a shared history and past and providing them with that sense of unity through this narrative of the universe is so clever. This is what education is about, this is what I want my children to learn, to be respectful, responsible citizens within a community - Parent 

 

Now the children can tell the whole story between them. Year six began the assembly with the big bang and stars and galaxies and year three and four told us all about “slimy slippery bacteria ...super cells with DNA control centres and dinosaurs that ruled the earth.”  They also told us how the universe had “invented courage and hope, love, silence, stillness, honesty and teamwork.”  I shared the story of the creation of different types of mammals and our curiosity that led to the discovery of fire. 

In the session outside year two discovered fire for themselves. They cooked potatoes and created drawings with charcoal from the fire. Special thanks to Max, the schools own Forest School’s educator, for his amazing story telling. We look forward to having him work with us in London.

Year one mixed up soil and planted the first of the three baskets. They learnt about how 10,000 years ago excessive hunting created a food crisis. However in times of crises the universe gets creative and miraculously all around the planet at about the same time human beings learnt to grow food. 

To help the children focus and also experience the silence of the universe we introduced an exercise we call sitting still to each of the year groups. This also included year one and two who inspired us with their ability to sit in silence and stillness for nearly two minutes.  

The time line in the hall came to life in the afternoon as each of the teachers brought wonderful art work produced in their classrooms. We also created a second time line around the school grounds, in preparation for the parent’s event the next day

Arriving in the staff room it was clear we were going to go places we had never been before ... the teachers were buzzing. All of the lessons in the entire school, for the next three days were to focus on space and the universe. The teachers had been doing lots of their own research and were lit up by it all. I saw pictures of black hole and planet cakes, heard about weaving free fall writing into long ropes and discovered new resource websites and videos. The three baskets of knowledge story had been re- written by each of the teachers, to suit the age range of their classes and life in the middle of a small country town. Year six even had a set of cartoons to go with it (see story section)