Brilliant Books: Robots with Dr. Beardsley

Brilliant Books had a visit today from Dr.Paul Beardsley from the Disney Research Institute in Zurich. 

Paul grew up in Mansfield. Part of the reason he travelled over from Zurich to see eighteen kids with similar backgrounds is that he is a massive reader and always has been.

A typical Disney robot - Wall-E!

Paul told me that without reading, he would not be where he is today. And unlike some, he really HAS achieved what it says on his CV. 

Not bad for a lad from Mansfield - one of the most impoverished towns in the UK and a perennial fixture in the relegation spots for crime, ill health, poor education and unemployment.

The kids absolutely loved every word Dr Beardsley had to say and his presentation was a delight. Recorded by Radio Nottingham as he did so, and interviewed by the Nottigham Post, it was one of the best days we've had at Brilliant Books and a day the kids told me that they would never forget.

Here are some of the highlights:

Harry Potter - an ever popular favourite with the kids

The team gather with all the lottery funded Brilliant Books donations and some of their own books





Nathan shows me a photograph of one of his favourite superheroes - Emma Frost
of the X-Men. Nathan is a BIG comics fan and we'll be swapping comics next week!



The two Phils set some creative writing work on robots and here,
some of the gang get stuck in. The work  they created here wil appear in
The Scribes of Seely - published on December 3rd, just in time for Christmas.




A pupil poses with one of Paul's beautiful gifts to the school - "The Fairest Of Them All"
The Making of Snow White.

The Brilliant Books project is funded by the 

Big Lottery Fund - your £2 goes further

than you think

Shellie, seen here working on building robots, passionately 

supports the project as a Mentor, working with the pupils in small groups

Some of the books supplied to the kids - that they can take home and read - 

by the Brilliant Books Project

Dr Beardsley inspired the pupils to work in teams to build robots, following

instructions and then they had to design their own - the results

will be in The Scribes of Seely, the Brilliant Books anthology.

Here's an example :)

All in all, it was a fantastic day, one of the best so far and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks, Dr Paul!

Mark