The first installment of our Night Walks project took place on Wednesday 29th March as dusk fell over Rushcliffe Country Park! We had an overwhelming uptake, with over 50 pupils and parents from Dovecote Primary as well as 8 volunteers from across the two Universities. We started by having a reading of the opening lines of Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milk Wood'; 'It is spring, moonless night in the small town, starless and bible-black...', which settled the pupils down and encouraged them to listen to the sounds of the park. The pupils then split into two groups; one went with artist Chrys Allen into the 'Memorial Trail' woodland, where rooks were nesting and spring shoots were budding, to explore

Next in our series of updates on the talented young people involved with the Creative Sparks programme is a spotlight on Courtney Williams! How did you get involved with Creative Sparks? I remember the first email I received from Ignite! very well because it ended up in my spam folder by mistake. Thankfully I checked it in time and didn't miss out on the opportunity. I was nominated for the Creative Spark award by the Lincolnshire and Rutland Education Business Partnership, after I took part in the Nuffield Bursary Scheme. This scheme involved me spending six weeks in Summer 2009 working at the University of Sheffield. My project focused on neutrinos – tiny, neutral particles that are able

Over the past few weeks, secondary schools participating in our CHEMWORKS programme have been delivering their Come Alive With Science projects. Pupils worked with scientists and creative practitioners to develop their own project about chemistry, which they then delivered to younger pupils as part of British Science Week. Year 9 pupils from Nottingham Academy delivered hands-on creative science activities to year 5s and 6s, with the support of scientist Laurel Armstrong and artist Rachel Barnett. Year 9s at Bluecoat Beechdale worked with scientist Sam Tang and artist Chris Lewis-Jones to create installations on the theme of environmental chemistry. Over at Trinity school, year 9s delivered

This week is British Science Week and many of the Lab_13s have been showing off the exciting experiments they do. Firstly, on Tuesday 14th, the Lab_13 at Gillespie hosted their Science Spectacular. Parents and members of the local community were invited to attend the event organised by the management committee and Carole Kenrick, their Scientist in Residence. The pupils demonstrated some of the activities and experiments they have been doing in the Lab_13, including their investigations about rockets. They also welcomed special guests Dr Sheila Kanani from the Royal Astronomy Society and Andres Tretiakov, a laboratory technician. Then, on Wednesday 15th, the Lab_13 at Irchester ran their an

On Saturday 11th of March, Ignite! took science into the supermarket! Hosted by Morrisons in Bulwell for the day, we ran activities based on the Wellcome Trust's The Crunch initiative around the theme of diet, nutrition and wellbeing. We gave away around 40 growing kits for children to grow their own radishes, peas and tomatoes! Thanks to some fantastic volunteers, we were also able to deliver some of our classic busking activities (energy sticks, confuserphones, slinkies) to the intrigue of the public. The event was organised as part of the British Science Association's British Science Week, which runs this year from the 10th to the 19th of March and comprises hundreds of events nationwide.

The Ignite! team is in need of new office space as we will be moving out of the current 11 East Circus Street office by mid-May. We are looking for a Nottingham city-centre location to operate from on a part-time basis (ideally 3 days a week or more). In exchange for minimal overheads, we can offer creative thinking, advice, funding application support, project collaborations, access to creative practitioners and volunteers as well as a lively atmosphere. We are committed to sustainability and recycling and looking to embark on a new adventure with a fresh approach to working. We are open to offers and suggestions. Please contact: Rick Hall rick@ignitefutures.org.uk 0115 873 6249 #Home