Meadows Story Hub launched!
On Friday 14 February 2020, we embarked on the second stage of our Story Hub pilot program with the launch of a traffic control room for inter-dimensional exploration aka Meadows Story Hub!
The Story Hub pilot is an innovative new concept in education being led by 100 Story Building. Its ambition: to co-create tangible spaces for children and their educators to freely experiment in creativity and imagination.
Meadows Primary is the third school in Victoria to launch a Story Hub after Sunshine Primary and Copperfield College.
The Federal Member for Calwell, Maria Vamvakinou MP, the State Member for Broadmeadows Frank McGuire MP and Deputy Mayor of Hume City Council Cr Karen Sherry attended the event, along with representatives from philanthropy, education and community.
‘The pilot gives us the chance to develop the literacy skills of our students in a fun, engaging and imaginative way. It offers our staff high levels of professional learning and the opportunity to ‘make learning fun’ and ‘interesting’ through imagination and scaffolded exploration of ideas and thought,’ shared Anthony Potesta, Principal, Meadows Primary on the occasion.
The event was led by a group of Grade 3 and 4 students. Presenting themselves as inventors and technicians, they took all attendees on a tour of the Hub. They also schooled them on all the important rules to be followed in the Hub. Chief among them:
‘Do not touch any of the buttons or else you will become a character on a TV Show.’
‘Stay away and stay alive.’
‘Make sure you wear a helmet made of diamonds.’
With the launch of Meadows Story Hub, we finished the first stage of the pilot program. This included a year of creative consultations with the students and teachers of the three schools to co-design a creative space in their premises underpinned by a fantastical story.
The students and their teachers, supported by 100 Story Building staff, will experiment with creative new projects in these imaginative and inspiring spaces over the next two years.
Story Hub is a part of a growing worldwide movement towards unlocking creativity in children to develop confident learners who think critically. An exhaustive new OECD report, Fostering Students’ Creativity and Critical Thinking: What it Means in School, is an investigation across 11 countries on what new teaching practices are being implemented to embed creativity and critical thinking into learning environments.
Broadmeadows-based Banksia Gardens Community Services will also partner with 100 Story Building and Meadows Primary to integrate creative approaches to education for children and young people through the Meadows Story Hub.
The three Story Hubs will positively impact over 1900 children and young people in some of Melbourne’s most marginalised neighbourhoods.
You can read more about Story Hub here.
The Story Hubs pilot is possible thanks to the generous support of the Aesop Foundation, The Ian Potter Foundation, The Samuel Nissen Charitable Foundation, H & L Hecht Trust, King and McMillan Foundation, the Australian Communities Foundation and our valued individual donors.