Northumbria University Animation expert brings imagination of children to life

An animation expert from Northumbria University is helping young people across the North East bring their inventions to life – with the aim of tackling climate change.

Chloe Rodham, associate lecturer within the Animation Department at Northumbria University is a Little Makers Inventor and will be speaking at the Making the Future event on 28 November, sharing her experience of bringing to life some of the most ingenious inventions from local children.

As well as being an associate lecturer, Chloe is an animator who develops commissions for those in all different sectors, including music videos, corporate motion graphics and short films.

Chloe is also a mentor on the award winning This Is Creative Enterprise (TICE), which introduces young people to creative careers.

Chloe says, "I first got involved with Little Inventors at a making weekend in Sunderland - creating cardboard prototypes of inventions. Since then I have developed four children’s invention ideas into models including a candy floss volcano and a robot water blaster! I absolutely love Little Inventors’ projects - I expand my knowledge of construction and materials through the making, and the ideas are so brilliantly inspiring. It is incredibly rewarding seeing the children’s reactions to how their ideas have been brought to life.”

In September the Little Inventors launched the Pioneers Energy Challenge, where they asked children aged 8-12 to help tackle the contemporary issue of the climate crisis.

Children from Sunderland, Northumberland and Tees Valley were challenged to think up and draw their invention ideas, keeping in mind the theme of ‘energy’, they had to explore sustainable ways to produce and use energy across every aspect of their lives.

The children can submit their ideas online and then the top 15 will be invited with their teachers, to take part in the Pioneers programme, where they will work with craftspeople like Chloe, to have their ideas made into a reality.

At the event, the longlisted ideas from the children will be presented to North East creators from all different industries to help shortlist ideas for the exhibition, in Tees Valley in summer 2020.

To find out more about Animation at Northumbria University, please visit Northumbria.ac.uk/animation or to book a free place for Making the Future, please click here.