In the Winter of 2022-23, the participants on the Digital Explorations Project worked with 8 students from Pebble Brook School, a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities. They were introduced to the inspiring story of the Paralympic Games, the birthplace is in close proximity to their school. The students attended 8 hands-on sessions where the participants of the project taught the students the 3D scanning and photogrammetry skills they had learnt.  A number of items from the National Paralympic Heritage Trust collection were digitally captured. They also had the chance to work with a professional archaeological illustrator who is an expert in digital capture techniques.  

  

Design and Technology Teacher, Pebble Brook SEND School:

This project has given our students a chance to learn digital skills that are specific, specialised and very different to what they would usually be exposed to.  Also this goes beyond what they normally would learn using ICT in school. This has been great for the student’s confidence as they have a good background knowledge in areas of technology that are fresh and emerging. I think that being able to work with a variety of IT professionals on a one-to-one basis has been fantastic for their development, not just in terms of IT knowledge but for social and emotional confidence as well. Thank you for having us and giving us the opportunity to work with you. It has been great. 

The objects here are all personal items of value that the school students brought in to record, reflecting their interests and hobbies in sport, information and technology, art and culture. The text is in their own words. 

Objects

1. Pebble Brook School football shirt
2. Fishing trophy
3. Basketball
4. Bionicle model
5. Boomerang
6. Compass
7. Cricket ball
8. Panathlon Challenge T-shirt 
9. Arsenal shirt

1. Pebble Brook School football shirt

Photogrammetry and text by Reyhana from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

This is a black and white striped T-shirt. Made from cotton. It is our school PE shirt, and my teacher thought it would be a good idea to make a 3D image of it to impress our Head Teacher. I am very interested in art, and I hope that making 3D models can help me to make better images. 

3. Basketball  

Photogrammetry and text by Hamid from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

I chose this item because I love to play the sport. I use it regularly at school break times. In the future, I will want to work in the ICT department. I have tried coding, electronics repairs and website design. The basketball will remind me of the fun times I had and hopefully am going to have, too. 

4. Bionicle model

Photo and text by Adrian from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

I have designed this using Lego. It’s one of my earliest designs and it was one of the first characters to be on my YouTube channel which I update regularly and hope to keep updated.  I’m hoping to make a lot more videos over time and continue to grow and inspire people to do what they want to do in life and can achieve and prove that no one can stop you from reaching your goals. 

5. Boomerang

Photo and text by Hamid from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

This Boomerang is made of sandalwood, thus it is soft.  I chose it because I thought it looked beautiful, also it was an heirloom from a holiday. I hope this item will remind me of the holiday. It reminds me of a quote: ‘My biggest failure is knowing that I never lived’ 

6. Bridle and horseshoe

Scan and photo by Maya from Pebble Brook SEND School  

This is a horse’s bridle and a horseshoe. I brought them in as I love horse-riding.  

7. Compass

Photogrammetry and text by Adam from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

The reason I brought these objects in was due to the pure amount of history within them. My grandad passed these items down to me and I’d love to take good care of them. It would also be amazing to have a digital 3D version. When I’m older, I want to become a train driver. However, I really like to work with photography in my free time.  The objects in the future will be handed down the family just like my grandad did to me. 

8. Cricket ball

Text by Sam from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

The ball was used in every practice session of cricket before a proper game, and we won a lot of games with my best friend Hamid, so he kept it in memory of the games after we stopped playing. I want to work in construction and farming in the future. The cricket ball doesn’t mean I want to go into professional cricket. It just reminds me of good memories from playing tournaments. 

9. Panathlon Challenge T-shirt 

Scan by Daniel from Pebble Brook SEND School. 

This T-shirt has a black background with a logo and writing. The logo feels quite rubbery compared to the shirt, which is quite soft.  
I chose to bring this object in because I wore it on the day I competed in the quarter finals of the London Panathlon Challenge 2019. I represented Harrow with my school.  I look back at this shirt with fond memories of the day.