Level Up Community Project

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Level Up Community Project Gets Off To An Excellent Start!

 

We recently celebrated the launch of our new ‘Level Up’ project, which aims to make the museum a more welcoming, inclusive and engaging space for communities across the region. 

The ‘Level Up’ project has been funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and its aim is to engage communities from across the region through local representatives, pop-up exhibitions and other activities. The project will see the museum collaborate with a diverse range of participants from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Chesterfield, with the aim of building ongoing community relationships and promoting the museum’s core ethos of ‘videogames are for everyone’.

 

Alongside our Taster Day that took place on the 20th October, the Level Up project has seen us organise museum visits, workshops and object handling sessions with a variety of community groups, including the Really NEET Project in Rotherham and Barnsley Refugee Council.

Taster Day At The NVM

 

To celebrate the launch of the Level Up project we invited community members to experience a taster day at the museum. This included free entry and time to explore the museum, a keynote talk from game industry professionals as well as opportunities to give feedback on the museum.

“I like how they try to please their consumers by giving us a voice in the museum, like suggestions on how we believe the museum could improve,” one participant said. “It makes it feel like a community and not just a business.”

Community Outreach Events

 

Other events to have taken place saw us work with the Really NEET Project in Rotherham and Barnsley Refugee Council. In Barnsley we discussed experiences with videogames and museums and talked about why it’s so important to preserve gaming history and culture. Like the taster day, members were also given the opportunity to discuss what they’d like to see in our museum.

Participants also got to take part in a coding activity featuring the Sphero robot football. The aim is to move the mini robot ball around a pitch and change its colours by using code on an accompanying tablet.

 

Videogames Are For Everyone

 

“The museum’s ethos is ‘videogames are for everyone’, so we want to make sure that we’re involving people from across our community,” said NVM Community Outreach Officer Lauren O’Donoghue. “You don’t have to be a ‘gamer’ to get involved. Anyone who wants to meet new people, develop new skills and learn more about the exciting world of videogames is more than welcome!”

We can’t believe the positive feedback we’ve had already for our Level Up project and with so many plans in the pipeline we certainly have some exciting times ahead.

Community Champions

We’re also now looking to recruit a number of ‘Community Champion’ volunteers for the next stage of the Level Up project. This role is open to anyone aged 16 or above living in Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham or Chesterfield – no previous experience with videogames (or museums!) necessary!

Community Champions will be at the heart of the Museum’s Level Up community project engaging communities from across the region to shape the future of The National Videogame Museum.

Click the button below to register interest in becoming a Community Champion or alternatively contact Lauren at lauren@thebgi.uk for more information.

Register Your Interest

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