Held at the University of Liverpool’s Victoria Gallery & Museum and funded by the Festival of Social Sciences, the event attracted 70 children and their parents. GroundsWell Team members Dr Elly King, Dr Rebecca Crook and Dr Hannah Burnett created a vibrant and interactive environment where young minds could explore how data shapes their daily lives. Through hands-on activities, games, and a dynamic presentation, we achieved our mission: sparking curiosity about data and empowering children with knowledge about how it is collected, linked, and used.

An Interactive Journey into Data

The event began with an interactive journey activity, where children mapped their route to school on a Velcro board and identified moments where data could be collected, such as crossing traffic lights or using a smartphone. This engaging exercise set the stage for thinking critically about the presence of data in everyday life. One young participant commented, “Data is everywhere!”—a sentiment echoed by many during the session.

Next came the highlight of the event: the Data Detectives game. Children became members of the housing or employment team, working collaboratively to solve mysteries using different types of information. This hands-on approach led to a lot more discussion about the possibilities of data. As one child noted, “Data can be used in many different ways.”

The session concluded with a child-friendly presentation by Dr Elly King to explain the concept of data linkage and how different data sources can be combined to create valuable insights. Though one child remarked, “It’s very complicated,” the overwhelming feedback from participants showed a significant increase in understanding.

^{Our journey to school map with tokens placed by the children}

Feedback and Impact

The response from children and their parents was overwhelmingly positive. An impressive 95% of respondents reported having a better understanding of data than before the event. The activities not only demystified data but also sparked conversations about its importance and complexity.

The Road Ahead: Building Data Literacy in Young Minds

This event demonstrated the importance of introducing children to data in a way that is accessible, engaging, and thought-provoking. As data becomes increasingly integral to our lives, it is crucial to equip the next generation with the tools to understand and question it.

The comments received highlight how these sessions expanded children’s perspectives, laying a foundation for informed and curious future citizens. GroundsWell is hoping to run more events like this in future, to continue to raise awareness and deepen knowledge about data and its role in shaping the world around us.

Let’s inspire the next generation to embrace data as a tool for exploration and innovation!

 

Credit to the team behind the original data detectives: https://datadetective.pages.dev/team/

Dr Elly King

Media

groundswell@qub.ac.uk