Muktangan is a 13 year old not-for-profit organization which imparts free, inclusive, holistic and child-friendly education to thousands of under-served children in Mumbai.
On the 13th February 2018, Studio staff had the honour of participating in the Muktangan School Teacher Exchange as part of a project focussed around the topical issue of plastics pollution.
Heading over to Muktangan’s Globe Mill Passage Municipal School in Worli, Enda and Lauren spent five days working closely with a small class, introducing them to the world of digital technology and game design through education. Using the likes of VR goggles and working together to produce a series of interactive games, the children were able to share their environmental message and have tonnes of fun in the process!
Creative Media teacher Lauren Archer commented:
My biggest take away from the trip was seeing students coming from nothing to school and wanting to learn. We gave the students a chance to try out virtual reality goggles and gave them an opportunity to ride a rollercoaster for the first time which was just amazing to see, their excitement and interest made it all worthwhile. It was a fantastic opportunity to take our knowledge of technology and game design across and to give them an insight into what they can create. The students all had high aspirations despite coming from poor backgrounds and this stood out to me as Muktangan is giving them an opportunity to go far in life which is just priceless. It is clear that the staff do all they can to support the students and the students appreciate this.
Whilst a warm and wonderful experience for all involved, the trip poignantly highlighted the growing issue of plastics pollution and its impact throughout the world.
Sector Skills Champion for The Studio, Enda, commented: “We went to India to talk to students about plastic pollution and get their experiences. They wanted to show these using a game which we developed with them using Scratch which concludes with a message about plastic pollution that they came up with. The overall trip was amazing and hopefully will inspire some of the children both in Mumbai and back here in the UK.”