TEENAGERS have teamed up with Bradford museums to organise a schedule of virtual events for people and their families.

The 13 Shipley teenagers known as the Cactus Crew are using the online group meeting platform Zoom to host the events.

They are curating and running the events with Bradford Council's Museums and Libraries, Visit Bradford and the National Science & Media Museum.

The Cactus Crew are a group of creative and enterprising 13 to 16 year olds who are part of Ignite Yorkshire, a £1m lottery-funded project encouraging young people to take inspiration from the region’s industrial past to develop new skills and coordinate events for the local community.

During lockdown, the team is running up to five events each week, ranging from and local-knowledge quizzes to music and Pictionary challenges. There is even an "eyebrow disco".

Working with Claire Ackroyd, Learning Manager with Museums & Libraries, the team has linked with culture organisations and galleries across the district to develop guest quizzes.

The aim is for people to enjoy Yorkshire’s heritage and culture during lockdown.

The activities have captured the interest of not just other local teens, but their families too, often seeing up to 20 families attending their regular evening events. 

Cactus Crew founder Nicola Murray helps the young people come-up with the ideas, curate and promote the events themselves, with designed materials shared across social media.

Laura Sewell, youth worker at Health Action Local Engagement (HALE), has worked with the Cactus Crew to support their mental health during the lockdown.

She said: "Our role is to support young people’s development and wellbeing, especially during this uncertain situation, and Nicola and I felt it was vital to maintain contact with and empower the teenagers to have a voice, influence and support each other.

"The events are fully-led by the young people with our support; we asked them the best way to keep in contact and they chose Instagram and Zoom events, which have been embraced both by the district’s community and the organisations supporting them.”

The events include: Mondays 8pm, teen quiz; Tuesdays 6pm, chat and challenge; Wednesdays 7pm, musical theatre quiz; Fridays 7pm, 70s music onward; Saturday 6pm, Pictionary for everyone.

The Cactus Crew are also planning a series of special events, including a live music concert with Isaac DV, a Cactus Crew member who has produced two albums during the lockdown that are available on Spotify, and a pre-recorded interview with David Hockney, in conjunction with Bradford Museums and Galleries.

To join in, text Nicola on 07914 495626, email spongetree@live.com, visit facebook.com/cactusCshipley or @teens4teenagers on Instagram.