Story Hub: Sunshine North & Sunshine College
We’re sharing the stories of our 2023 Hubs in this series of articles.
The Intergalactic Outbreak Observation Deck
A burst from a crashed alien ship tore through the two schools and the tech used for their observation deck splashed out onto the walls of the libraries, strangely…
A student safety officer reveals a secret alien message during the launch of the Story Hub at Sunshine North Primary School. Photo by Matto Lucas.
In 2023, we worked with Sunshine North Primary School and Sunshine College to co-design a Story Hub which connected both schools.
Over the course of the program, the students from both schools came up with a theme for their Story Hub through discovery activities and workshops led by 100 Story Building. Then local west-side artist Jessica Wilson was chosen to help them realise their vision in the physical space.
Already big fans of Jess Wilson’s work the school co-design team created a brief for Jess to start on: ‘Space Vibes’ with elements of nature, holographic materials, neon or fluorescent, and galaxies.
The result was an “Intergalactic Outbreak”, a tear in the fabric of the universe caused by a crashing spaceship - an incident “covered up” by the authorities. At Sunshine North Primary School, students had turned part of their library into an “observation deck” where they could analyse alien artefacts and glimpse other worlds. Part of the “time-space tear” caused by the crashing ship extended into Sunshine College’s library, providing an inspirational space for students there, too.
The Sunshine Story Hub was unique for us, as it was the first time we had a collaboration between a Secondary School and a Primary School. We designed the program to empower both schools' to create a shared vision and contribute equally. The program ensured the Primary school students felt empowered in their creativity and didn’t defer to the older students and the Secondary students were leaders and learned a lot from the younger ones limitless energy and unrestricted creativity. Each group of students had a voice in the project and contributed ideas which inspired and built on the others.
The “time-space tear” in the library at Sunshine College. Photo by Matto Lucas.
The co-design team was made up of both primary and secondary students and collaboratively came up with the narrative that linked both hubs. Artist Jess Wilson adapted the design to suit each age demographic. The Primary School design was more colourful and tactile, and the Secondary school design was a bit edgier and darker.
The co-design model allows students' ideas and creativity to be visible in the public space. It is a tool that can help anyone who interacts with the hub, to step inside the creativity and imagination of young people who designed it. In this case, the students had a clear vision for their Story Hub and brief for the artist and therefore had a strong sense of ownership and increased engagement in the space, which we saw at the launch and beyond.
Since launching the space at the end of 2023, our facilitator Jo reflects “it’s been amazing to see the growth [in students and teaching staff]. The mindset shifts, the resourcing and the support increase and seeing the [Teacher’s] goals change.”
Co-design team member Justin demonstrates the "space fridge" in the Intergalactic Outbreak Observation Deck at Sunshine North Primary School. Photo by Matto Lucas.
