Edutaining young people at The British & Texas Grand Prix

Edutaining young people at The British & Texas Grand Prix

Established by Sir Lewis Hamilton in 2021, Mission 44 is a charitable foundation working to build a fairer, more inclusive future in which every young person can thrive. The charity supports bold organisations, leaders and ideas to reimagine the future and empower young people from underserved communities. Through grantmaking, research and advocacy, Mission 44 is focused on building a more inclusive education system, supporting progression into STEM careers and empowering young people to be changemakers.

Through our relationship and existing roles with Silverstone and Silverstone University Technical College at the British Grand Prix, we supported Mission 44’s visit to bring 50+ young people from across programmes they support to explore STEM roles in motorsports.

50+

Young People

4

Heats

40

Teams

"Through LEGO and robotics, the young people we brought to Silverstone to explore STEM roles in motorsport, got a hands on opportunity to test the problem solving and resilience skills they learnt throughout their visit"
— Katie MillerHead of Impact | Mission 44

Why Edutainment?

Edutainment is playful, explorative, open-to-anyone, hands-on, experience-based learning. No former experience is required, anyone can take part, it’s “Go, explore and play”.

The research is clear: Playful pedagogy supports social-emotional and academic strengths while instilling a love of learning. Studies show that children explore more than adults if they are given the opportunity, and exploring has strong benefits for their learning.

Therefore, giving children, teenagers and adults the opportunity to explore and play, is a great learning tool, especially in an informal educational setting. It breaks down the boundaries and takes away the reservations some children/young people (and adults) might have in a traditional educational environment.

Edutainment creates a playful space to try, gives room to make mistakes, to try again and to observe that one problem can have several solutions - not just one right answer. Giving room to try means giving space to find your talents.
As said, Edutainment is open to anyone: “Go, explore, play!”, and a lot of active learning along the way.

A STEAM Education Session at the British Grand Prix

The session started with a little ice-breaker activity which paid homage to the charity & founder Sir Lewis Hamilton, courtesy of a LEGO Mosaic of the F1 driver. This not only allowed the students to feel relaxed and really get into the session but also started to build strong collaboration skills to use in the latter part of the session.

Once the students had successfully completed the Mosaic, they moved on to the main event of the session. Using LEGO Education SPIKE Prime Sets they were tasked to build a moveable robot to compete in a race, however, they weren't allowed to use wheels, meaning they had to enter the mind of an engineer and configure a solution that made their builds competitive. This activity was called 'The Hopper Race'.

Through trial and error and using key perseverance, persistence and teamwork skills, the students locked in their final designs and set their sights on qualifying. Split into 4 heats containing 10 teams each, the different groups battled it out for a place in the final. The heats themselves were incredible, not only because the students were having a fun time but to see first-hand the talent the students have and how creative education enables students to unlock their true potential.

As we approached the end of the session the anticipation for the final had definitely been building, all students gathered around to see how it would play out. Following a dramatic race which concluded with an almighty cheer when the winners were crowned, the students shared with us some extremely positive feedback and several ideas on how they could improve next time which is always rewarding, to know they truly engaged with the activities.

In October, we had the pleasure to continue over partnership with Mission 44, joining them in what was their first-ever international appearance. The event formed as part of Mission 44's broader message to empower young people from underrepresented communities globally. Its ultimate aim is to raise aspirations for underrepresented youth to pursue STEM careers, and to address the lack of diversity in the sector.

By granting young people unique educational experiences within F1 and utilising key STEAM resources that promote and harvest transferrable skills, the hope is to inspire action and spark some of the change needed.

This event was focused on reaching young women and non-binary young people as many F1 teams only has a 7–9% share of the workforce.

The day got under way with some welcome remarks and an ice breaker activity conducted by some of our wonderful STEAM Team. The 'Six Bricks' Ice breaker was split into two parts. The first saw students, from Code2College and The Ann Richards School stand back to back, using verbal communication and problem solving, they had to describe what they steps they were taking with the aim to have built the same model as their partner. This was great fun which not only saw students having a really great time but was amazing to see unique ways they would communicate to edge closer to the end goal.

The second part was more centered around collaboration and team work. As a team they came together to see who could build a model capable of hanging over the edge of a table unsupported. The winner was the team who's build could go the furthest distance away without failing.

"We received a lot of feedback that the robotics activity was a highlight of the day. Our many thanks to the whole CreativeHUT team for their support and facilitation in hosting such an engaging experience that was educational, inspiring and fun!"
— Katie MillerHead of Impact | Mission 44

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