All Aboard The STEAM Train

Hi, my name is Sam and I’m not really a morning person. So, when I got out of bed this past Saturday, three hours before my normal alarm, you know that there must have been a very good reason… and there was!

With the promise of LEGO and a room full of fellow geeks, I began my early morning trip to Manchester. And after a very pleasant drive through the Pennines, I arrived at Full Steam Ahead 2026!

Full Steam Ahead is an event born from the mind of Carrie-Ann Booth (Founder of The Science Booth), attended by STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) advocates from across the UK, and I had the honour of representing The Code Zone.

After following my nose to the nearest coffee machine upon arrival, the day started with a BANG. No, I mean it, there really was an explosion! Fortunately, it was a planned explosion alongside a fabulous introduction to the day from Carrie-Ann. This was then followed by the first speaker of the day, Ben Franklin, who shared some interesting insights on building confidence and purpose.

Between each speaker, the day was guided by Heather Wright, an MC so full of energy that you couldn’t help but smile (as seen here in the grey TCZ shirt). Keeping track of where to be and when was made easy by the honking of a horn, which Heather was very clearly enjoying using (I wouldn’t be surprised if she took it home).

Next up was a talk from Tim Freed (Founder of Book That In!) who gave some brilliant insight into automating your admin, sparking some healthy discussion over the use of AI (a running theme that day) in communicating with customers. This was supported by a live demo, whereby scanning a QR code and filling in a form sent me a personalised message, tailored specifically to me - very cool!

With the next talk happening in 30 minutes, I once again sought out the nearest coffee machine and doubled my caffeine intake for the day. My eyes now fully open, I took a walk around some of the exhibitor stalls and it wasn’t long before I was greeted by the friendly face of Hannah Hagon (Founder of Unplugged Tots, amongst other accolades). Hannah is doing fantastic work helping teachers and parents introduce computational thinking skills to young children, screen free; think of it as analogue coding. She also wrote a fantastic book full of play-based activities that introduce children to the foundations of computer coding, which is something I will be picking up to read with my little one!

Buzzing from the coffee and conversations, I heard the HONK of Helen’s horn, signalling that it was time to return to my seat. We were then given the choice of three different workshops before lunch. I stayed put for the workshop by Emma Harper on content, smart repurposing and using AI. There were some great insights into what we consider to be content, it’s so much more than “chuffing reels” as one attendee pointed out! Coming away from this talk, I found myself with several new ideas to put into practice, and one of them was that I absolutely should be writing a blog about this… off to a good start then!

Lunch followed, providing more than just some much needed, and dare I say well deserved food, but also more coffee! Oh, and a chance to chat with even more STEAM businesses and individuals about what they do and how they shape young children’s lives through STEAM.The afternoon kicked off with one thing that I had been looking forward to ever since I read the programme. It was time to play with some LEGO! Sarah Dodd is the founder of Brilliant Bricks and lead us on an interactive workshop that involved exploring our businesses in a hands-on and creative way. The building session gave everyone a chance to talk about their goals and aspirations, using the brick medium to express these goals physically. This sparked questions and conversations that may not have been broached without the colourful blocks. I think I’ll be bringing some to my meetings from here on out!

The final activity of the day, before the much-anticipated awards ceremony, was an appearance by Matt Green (The Rapping Science Teacher) who shared his story, and some bars! It was fascinating to hear how a desire to change the way that STEAM is communicated in schools lead him to where he is today. Matt’s story really highlights how perseverance and willingness to adapt, changing “one small variable at a time”, can lead to incredible results.

Just before the awards ceremony itself got underway, we were regaled with some beautiful poems from Charlotte Faulconbridge (An Amazon No.1 Bestselling Author), who shared some of her work with us. I can’t admit to listening to much poetry before this, but Charlotte’s words brought an oasis of calm to an otherwise busy day that was much appreciated by all.

Now for the awards themselves. The Code Zone had entered into the STEAM Educator category and were amongst some incredible finalists, each delivering STEAM in their own, unique and special way:

• • Emma Park – izWiZ Robotics
  • Adam Hill – Launchpad STEM Ltd
  • Naomi Ennis – Animal Teach Ltd
  • Dr Laura Randle – Science Geek Workshop
  • Annette Peterson – Number Train Limited

Throughout the day, I had the pleasure of chatting with some of these other finalists and finding out about what they do. The message behind FSA of “collaboration over competition” really shone through with everyone that I encountered.

Finally, the winners were announced, and if you haven’t guessed it from the grin plastered on my face in these pictures (or the slightly more giving tell of a trophy in my hand), we WON!

After posing awkwardly for some winners’ photos and claiming my free drink from the bar (Fanta, I was driving), it was time to make tracks. Full Steam Ahead 2026 was a massive success. A huge thank you to Carrie-Ann and the entire FSA team for pulling it all together, and to every person who stopped for a chat, shared their story, or let me waffle on about The Code Zone.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to catch up on those hours of sleep!