Take part
We have a number of activities for you to get involved in as part of our current projects. Scroll down to read about what activities you can do with us.
Is your group based in Northern Ireland or Wales? Please contact Shauna McNeilly (Northern Ireland) at shauna.mcneilly@big-ideas.org or Susan Dalloe (Wales) at susan.dalloe@big-ideas.org.
- Why is genetic engineering important?
- How is genetic engineering part of the field of engineering?
- What changes has genetic engineering already made in the world?
- How can genetic engineering change the world in the future?
- A one-minute video of your activity and/ or photos (max. 10 photos)
- A 200-word description of what you did
- Media permissions form signed by the teacher
- A question from the class for one of the three panellists
The challenge is now open. Register your interest now to receive free resources and inspiring material by emailing us at engineer@big-ideas.org.
Playground Memorials: Our project can help your community commemorate mothers who lost sons or daughters whilst they were serving in the First World War, by connecting the past with the present through the familiar activity of play. We are gifting playground equipment to selected community groups who want to add to an existing playground or start a new one. Each piece of equipment will be engraved with words and quotes from communities, reflecting the relationship between mothers and their sons or daughters. We are especially looking for locations where mothers have lost more than one son or daughter in World War One, but your group may have your own reasons for wanting a playground memorial.
- Find out more about the project
- Download an application form
- Email mothers@big-ideas.org with questions or help applying
All applications must be received by the end of November.
Workshops: We are leading workshops for women’s groups across the UK. These help develop confidence in communication, as well as inviting groups to discover and respond creatively to some of the experiences of mothers explored through the project. The workshop can be anywhere between two and five hours, and is designed to suit the requirements each group we are delivering to.
Creative commemoration: Your group can discover the stories and experiences of mothers who lost their sons and daughters whilst they were serving in the First World War, and respond creatively to them. Your group could use visual art, creative writing, music or more to commemorate these women and their experiences.
Research: Your group can research mothers from the UK who lost sons or daughters whilst they were serving in the First World War. Research could include letter exchanges between mothers and sons during the First World War, poetry written about bereavement during the period, newspaper articles, and biographical information about the mothers and their experience of losing their children. You could look into your family histories, look at local archives, contact local history groups, use the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, look for books or find memorials.
Email us at mothers@big-ideas.org for full information and to take part. You can also join our Facebook group and connect with others who are taking part in the project.
Unremembered100 billboards: We have a special opportunity for groups to appear on digital advertising boards at bus stops and public spaces across the UK in unique photo tributes for the Labour Corps for Unremembered100. To take part, groups are invited to send their photo tributes holding up the Unremembered100 names in front of the camera. The names have been selected to represent a cross section of the wider story of hundreds of thousands of people from across the world who served in this capacity.
The British story: We are searching for groups across the UK to take part in our project to raise awareness of the lives and experiences of British men and women who served as Labour Corps during the First World War. We have commissioned researchers across the UK to unearth little-known local Labour Corps heritage. Groups can access this research and plan thoughtful commemorative projects. The locations of the researchers are Hertfordshire, Leeds, Hull, Brighton, Glasgow, Wales, Manchester, Leicester and South Shields.
Could you take part as a community hub? You can be awarded up to £1,000 through our eligible expenses scheme. Visit our hubs page to find out more.
Email theunremembered@big-ideas.org to take part in the British story. Find out more in the following document: Call for community groups
To take part in the Unremembered100 billboards, download the following document: Unremembered100 billboards
Specially-designed No Barriers medals will be available for groups that hold events to mark Walter Tull’s centenary and stand up to discrimination for Tull100. Medals are awarded to groups, rather than to individuals. At the end of the year, 29 special medals will be awarded for exceptional achievements, one for each year of Tull’s life.
To earn a No Barriers medal, you will need to:
- Commemorate Walter Tull (there are lots of activity ideas in the resource pack)
- Work together in a group
- Include new members of the community in your group
- Include a meaningful No Barriers conversation at your event.
Alongside the No Barriers Medal Challenge, teams will also be invited to dedicate football matches to Walter Tull, and groups across the country can produce creative responses to his life, including writing and art.
Email us at tull100@big-ideas.org for more information and to take part. After you’ve completed your event, complete our No Barriers Medal Challenge form.
Trailblazers posters
Trailblazers encourages young people to explore the incredible lives of women from the First World War, to discover Trailblazing women in your locality, and to develop as future Trailblazers. Schools and community groups across the country can research a contemporary Trailblazer in your local community and display posters celebrating the incredible achievements of women today.
If you are a school or community group you can research and nominate a contemporary Trailblazer from your local community to be made into one of our Trailblazer posters. We will then help you display your poster alongside those that have been made by other schools and groups across the country, as well as the stories of women from the First World War.
Email us at trailblazers@big-ideas.org with the subject heading Trailblazers posters to take part and find out more.
Colour to Commemorate: Illustrate a commemorative, 30-page poetry book with your class to be kept in your school library. We commissioned poet and children’s author Jim Eldridge to write accessible poems about the RAF, flight, conflict, death and remembrance for children and young people for this poetry book.
Research to Remember: Take part in Research to Remember this autumn by using the Remember RAF100 Database. Research your local area to find out about local, World War One, RAF graves and the stories behind those buried locally. Share these stories with your local community by inviting them to a commemorative event. Contact Big Ideas for a funding application and access to the Remember RAF100 database.
Email RAF100@big-ideas.org to take part and find out more.
Become a bell ringer to honour the bell ringers that died during the First World War. By joining Ringing Remembers you will:
- Be part of a unique nationwide project to honour the 1,400 bell ringers lost during the First World War
- Learn a new skill that is both a sport and an art, social, a mental exercise and good for focus and fitness
- Be part of a local community and connect with an ancient British tradition
- Have the opportunity to ring with others across the country on 11 November, marking the centenary of the Armistice.
Become a bell ringer today by filling out our registration form or emailing bells@big-ideas.org.
