There’s a new contest in our neck of the woods and you will be challenged to put your inventiveness, courage and garbage? to the test in the Buggy Battles of Calderdale!

Brought to you by Scavenger Labs CIC and Noisy Toys, this project would like to challenge young people to create their own buggies from a basic kit and whatever you find in your recycling bin and then… battle it out!

Battles?

Basically we build Buggies and then they fight and race against each other- yes it sounds a bit like Robot Wars doesn’t it…! They will race, sumo-wrestle, complete an assault course and some kind of fashion show.

Buggies will need to be built at home (by young people and not their parents) and will be controlled by a portable programmable device: for now this will be the Redfern Crumble, but future rounds might use Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Microbit etc. We recommend Crumbles as they are entry-level and you can run the motors straight from them.

No previous coding or Making experience is necessary and we are particularly keen to get as many girls on board as possible.

We are currently running 2 pilots for this project- one with 15 home learners and one with years 5 & 6 at Scout Road in Mytholmroyd. Full details will be coming soon. The project is a great way for children and young people to learn a lot about coding, electronics, design etc

For more details and some suggested Rules of Engagement visit:

https://scavengerlabs.org/post/buggy-battles/

At the moment, this project will only be open to a small number of young people by invitation but we hope to get support to open it out to anyone, and maybe get it going as a regular event.

We will have a weekly zoom meet (optional) and we will be preparing some video workshops and other online support. The battles themselves will probably take place as soon as lockdown restrictions permit, likely after Easter. Stay tuned.

Taking part is completely free but you will need the necessary tech. You can buy everything (except batteries) directly from Redfern (https://redfernelectronics.co.uk)

Total cost of all the items you need comes at £36.84. Contact Stephen for the list of equipment you require.