Noisy Toys run
- workshops
- stage shows
- interactive installations
- participatory demonstrations
- drop-ins
- performances
- walk-around acts
- and other engagement activities.
Science communication (especially physics), Making, e-waste and sustainability awareness, STEM, STEAM, noise, chaos, empowerment, Noise, repair, NOISE.
Creative Learning: our educational ethos
ALL of our activities are designed to stimulate learning, whether we are making music or coding a buggy. Creativity is a buzz word in education now, but it is hard to plan into a curriculum. For us it means creating an environment that encourages curiosity, problem solving, play, empathy, lateral thinking, questioning, experimenting. These experiences use the whole brain and connect different areas of the brain. We are not even slightly interested in your league table rating, ofsted report or exam results, but we know for a fact that these things will improve- as well as young people’s mental health, happiness and the state of society and the whole world- if creative learning experiences are prioritised. This are not just our beliefs, they are backed up by neuroscience and educational research, even if policy hasn’t quite caught up yet.
Background & business structure
After a vicious and hostile takeover bid in 2018, Noisy Toys has been devoured by a ruthless Community Interest Company called Scavenger Labs limited, whose directors are the infamous Mick Chesterman and Steve Summers.
Location
We are based in Calderdale, West Yorkshire but can travel all over the country, and sometimes beyond the solar system.
People
Steve Summers
Stephen Summers is a qualified teacher with over fifteen years’ experience as a workshop leader and science communicator. He started Noisy Toys in 2007.
Steve is a musician, artist and performer who specialises in upcycled instruments. He has tested thousands of noses all over the country, butchered hundreds of computers and spawned many strange new instruments.
Georgios Stenos Frantzios
Yorgo is a sonic scavenger; a full-time explorer of hardware stores, kitchens and junkyards in quest for noise-making treasures. You can find out more about his work here.
Chantelle Scott
Chantelle is a composer, vocalist, musician, producer and sound engineer.
She has a diploma in Audio Engineering & Technology, a BSc degree in Zoology and a passion for the wild wild world and all the sounds in it.
More about Chantelle.
Scavenger Labs
Noisy Toys now operates as part of Scavenger Labs ltd, which was incorporated by Mick Chesterman and Steve Summers in 2018. For now these two identities are still quite blurred but we see it panning out like this:
Noisy Toys
Art & Science, performance, musical experimentation
- Interactive installations & art
- Shows & demontrations
- Science busking
Scavenger Labs
Making & Tinkering, sustainability, technological empowerment
- Workshops (structured & drop-in)
- Shows & demonstrations
- projects
Both projects are concerned with inspiring people to learn about things that they may not feel confident with, whether that’s science, music, technology, coding or anything else. We are experts at mixing these subjects up, making them accessible, fun and creative.