Another great Bonfire Night and Firework Display at Redditch Fire Station. Although it was originally expected that 2014 would have been the last display the Fire Service have now confirmed that they do plan to continue with the regular tradition for 2016 and beyond. There is a reasonable admission fee (£4 adults, £2 children in […]

Introduction This is a review of the Meccanoid G15K personal robot from Meccano. It’s a programmable robot that’s about 4 feet tall (about the same size as a 6 year old child). The recommended minimum age is 10 which I believe is the age for making it; I’m hoping to use it to teach programming […]

The Big Bang fair is a free STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) event aimed at children aged from 7 to 19. It’s an annual event and I first attended the Big Bang Science Fair last year – Big Bang Fair 2014. I took my 8 year old daughter (now 9 year old) along and […]

The Raspberry Pi is a $35 computer designed to provide a platform for children to learn computer programming. The Raspberry Pi was launched in 2012 and became and immediate success, with the only problem being how to satisfy demand when initial orders exceeded everyone’s wildest dreams. Initially many were bought by adult makers rather than […]

Meeting Father Christmas at Creaky Cauldron, Magic Alley, Stratford-Upon-Avon

This Halloween I created an indoor halloween light effect using a Raspberry Pi and a PIR sensor. Unlike previous years my children weren’t really involved in making this one, which is because my 9 year old daughter decided to create her own Raspberry Pi based Halloween Project. She has created a Raspberry Pi, Makey Makey […]

I had already visited Brodsworth Hall and gardens taking my children for a day out on a standard day. This was our second visit which was on one of the Brodsworth at War special event days. I took my family along as a member of the English Heritage members panel. The day that we visited […]

During the second world war Bletchley Park was home to the Government Code and Cypher School and played a critical role deciphering encrypted messages. I first visited a several years ago before it was opened to the public, it seamed a shame then that such an important part of British history wasn’t more accessible. Since […]

It’s been almost a year since we had our camping trip during the Morecambe Seaside Festival, but here’s a quick run through of what we did for anyone looking to do something similar this year. We like to try and plan at least one family camping trip a year, we decided upon Morecambe as it’s […]

Conkers is an attraction in the National Forest. It has outdoor play areas and activities and an indoor activity centre with an environment themed learning zone and play area. The outdoor area covers a large area, with a modern light railway to get between two areas of the site. As well as play areas there […]