We want your help to build an interactive digital archive of young people’s everyday objects and the stories behind them. Working with a team of expert hackers and archivists, you’ll get the chance to help design and make something that has never been built before!
To take part you need:
* To be aged 13-16 years.
* To have an object that you’re comfortable sharing the story of on the day (you’ll be able to take it home with you afterwards!)
* To be prepared to help design and build an interactive archive of young people’s everyday objects.
* No previous technical experience, you just need to be willing to work as part of a team and have lots of enthusiasm!
This is a FREE event, however we only have a limited number of places. To book a place at the hackathon, sign up on our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/my-object-stories-hackathon-tickets-19026141702
Lunch and refreshments will be provided on the day. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know on the Eventbrite booking form.
Instructions on how to get to the Hackathon
The My Object Stories Hackathon will take place in a brand new ‘Digital Humanities Lab’ on the University of Sussex campus. Below are instructions on how to reach the University of Sussex campus by train, car or bus, and how to find Silverstone Building (where the Digital Humanities Lab is based) once you arrive at the campus. The building has a ramped entrance (not level access), and is equipped with disabled facilities and a lift (see http://www.disabledgo.com/access-guide/university-of-sussex/silverstone-2). Disabled parking is available outside the venue.
Finding Silverstone Building and the Digital Humanities Lab
(Instructions from Falmer Station)
1. Leaving the main station entrance, walk straight ahead following the signs to the University of Sussex.
2. Go down the steps or slope and walk through the subway ahead of you (under the A27).
3. Leaving the subway, keep following the path until you reach a zebra crossing. Continue straight ahead, into a large concrete courtyard (Falmer House).
4. Pass through the courtyard and keep walking until you reach an open plaza area (the Library Square).
5. Ahead of you will be a building called ‘Asa Briggs’, with two large pillars sticking out of the top. Follow the pavement around the left-hand side of this building and keep following the path along a tarmaced road (Library Road).
6. The path will curve right and you will see a zebra crossing appear on your left. Cross here, and on your left will be ‘Silverstone Building’ where the hackathon is located.
7. Go up the steps leading to the main entrance of Silverstone Building and once inside follow the signs to the Digital Humanities Lab (located on the first floor).
The route is also displayed on the map below:
By train
Falmer train station is directly opposite the University campus. Pedestrian access is through a subway under the A27 – follow signs for the University of Sussex (the University of Brighton has a campus at Falmer too). Falmer is on the line between Brighton and Lewes, about eight minutes’ travel time in each direction. Four trains an hour go there during the day time. Visitors travelling via London and the west should take a train to Brighton and change there for Falmer. The journey time from London to Brighton is just under an hour. You can also change at Lewes for Falmer, if you are coming from the east.
By car
The University is at Falmer on the A27 between Brighton and Lewes, about four miles (six kilometres) from the centre of Brighton. Please follow signs for University of Sussex on the north side of the A27 (note that the University of Brighton also has a campus at Falmer on the south side of the A27.) Visitors from London and the north should take the M23/A23 road towards Brighton. Before entering the centre of Brighton, join the A27 eastbound signposted Lewes. Drivers from the east or west take the A27 direct to the University. Visitors should park in the visitors car park (signposted) near Sussex House.
By bus
The 23, 25, 28 and 29 buses run between the centre of Brighton and the University, bringing you directly to campus. You can catch a bus from the Old Steine in Brighton; the 25 also runs from Churchill Square. The 28 and 29 go from the Old Steine and stop right outside the University campus on their way to Lewes and beyond. Travel time is about 20-30 minutes. Bus timetables and information is available from Brighton buses.
Important information about attending the Hackathon
The following important information is aimed both at participants attending the hackathon and their parents/guardians. Please read carefully before attending the event.
* As part of the workshop, we would like you to bring an object from your everyday life that you would feel comfortable sharing the story of. A significant part of this workshop will be digitally recording object stories to create a new ‘digital archive’ of young people’s everyday objects. We will ask you to take part in a short recorded interview about what the object tells us about your everyday life and we will also take some digital photographs or scans of your object. This digital record will be added to the Mass Observation Archive’s ‘Everyday Childhoods’ collection (you’ll take the original object back home with you!) and it will also be used in the workshop to help make an interactive ‘digital archive’ of all the everyday objects. We would like to display this digital archive in public places (e.g. at the university, museums, or at special events) and so it’s very important that you’re happy for us to share the story of your object.
* To have the digital record of your object included in the Mass Observation Archive and in the interactive ‘digital archive’, you will need to give us special permission to look after it. Both you and a parent/guardian will need to sign a ‘consent form’ that confirms you are happy for us to take care of the data after the workshop. As part of this agreement, we will take special care to make your data ‘anonymous’. This means that we will take out any bits of data from the interviews, scans or photographs that might reveal your identity (e.g. people’s names or information about where you live or go to school.) Please make sure you read the form with a parent or guardian before the hackathon (you can download it here). At the end of the hackathon, we will ask you and your parent/guardian to sign the consent form. If you have any questions about the consent form or the event, please feel free to contact Liam Berriman (l.j.berriman@sussex.ac.uk).
Information about the event organisers:
The Sussex Humanities Lab – Dr Liam Berriman and Dr Chris Kiefer are the co-organisers of this event and both are lecturers based in the newly established Sussex Humanities Lab. Liam is a researcher of digital childhood and youth and has experience of running interactive research workshops with young people of all ages. Chris is computer-musician and researcher in interaction design and has experience of running hacking workshops with young people.
The Mass Observation Archive – Suzanne Rose is the Education and Outreach Officer at the Mass Observation Archive and since 2012 has worked with the Archive to host events with schools and the wider community.
This event is being organised and funded as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2015. It has also received funding support from the Digital Economy ‘Communities and Cultures’ Network+, and the University of Sussex’s Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood at Youth.
