Code, Colour, and Consciousness: Bringing AI Literacy and Sustainable Coding to Mountbatten School with EcoCode and Playlab

There is a unique energy that floods a school during a "Big Bang" event. It’s the buzz of curiosity, the sounds of hands-on building, and the realisation among students that science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) aren't just subjects you study—they are tools you use to shape the world.

We at Digit<all> were thrilled to return to Mountbatten School in Romsey to take part in their Big Bang experience for secondary students. Mountbatten is not just any venue for us; they are a valued Partner School for the charity, and their stellar Department for Computer Science is led by one of our own incredible ambassadors, Ollie Woods.

This wasn't our first visit—in fact, it was our third time supporting their Big Bang event. However, on previous visits, we worked primarily with primary-aged students. This year, we pivoted to engage their secondary cohorts, bringing advanced concepts in AI literacy and physical computing down to earth in five intense, high-energy sessions.

Joined by our CEO, Peter Marshman, and Education Director, Tig Williams, we arrived eager to connect with Ollie (Head of Computer Science at Mountbatten School) and his amazing wider team, including his colleague, Ellie, who flawlessly organised the entire Big Bang logistics.

Our mission for the day was twofold: to demystify artificial intelligence using our Playlab tools and to explore sustainable engineering through our Eco Code resources. Here is a look inside what we achieved.

Peter Marshman (CEO), Ollie Woods (Ambassador) and Tig Williams (Education Director)

Part 1: Remixing AI – The Playlab Workshops (Years 9 & 10)

We hosted two Playlab AI sessions with Year 9 and Year 10 groups. The goal wasn’t just to teach them how to use AI, but how to understand it—the essence of AI literacy.

We pulled back the curtain on how these systems operate, discussing different corpus models and how data is broken down into "tokens." Once the theory was set, it was time for the students to get hands-on using a "Run, Modify, Make" framework.

1. Run & Review

We started by letting the students test fun, pre-existing apps built with Playlab. They provided feedback on the user interface ("the vibe"), analyzed the types of information the app requested, and discussed how they felt about the overall experience.

2. Modify & Remix

Next, we challenged them with a practical example: a standard carbon footprint calculator. They ran the calculator, but then we asked them to critique it.

Was the output accurate?

Were the questions precise enough for a student audience?

Was the "vibe" age-appropriate?

Using the AI literacy skills they had just learned, they went into the "back end" of the tool. They didn't just tweak the existing code; they redeveloped the underlying prompts that guided the AI. To enhance the functionality, they utilized the "Tools" section, adding integration for:

Python: For more complex mathematical processing.

Image generation: To create visual outputs.

Chart integration: To turn textual data into easy-to-read graphics.

The most exciting part of this phase was seeing the students try each other's "remixed" carbon capture apps, realizing how the same initial tool could be refactored to serve completely different audiences.

3. Make from Scratch

Finally, they were given a blank canvas. We asked them to think of a problem in their own lives—in school or at home—that they could solve with an AI-powered app. The creativity was boundless. Students developed:

Sports fitness apps tailored to their routines.

Gamified mathematics revision tools.

Dungeons and Dragons generators for their home campaigns.

Drama performance scripting tools to assist in acting and dialogue creation.

By publishing these apps on Playlab, the students created a mini-ecosystem where they could try out, test, and experience the solutions their peers had built.

Part 2: Sustainability in Living Colour

The Eco Code Workshops (Year 7)

For our remaining three workshops, we worked with three separate Year 7 classes using our "Eco Code" curriculum. Eco Code is designed to connect physical computing and engineering with sustainable solutions using the BBC micro:bit.

We focused on the "Polar Bear Hair" resource. This activity is a fantastic intersection of biology, physics, coding, and engineering.

We discussed the surprising science of nature’s colouring. We learned that polar bear skin is black, but their hair is actually translucent. We compared this to pigment-based colour (which uses chemicals that can be harmful to the environment) and structural colour .

Structural colour —found in polar bear hair and the brilliant blue feathers of a kingfisher (which are technically brown!)—is created when light refracts off the microscopic structures of the body.

The students used their engineering skills to connect micro:bits to RGB LEDs via crocodile clips. Then came the code.

They learned how computer pixels use RGB hex codes to generate specific colour lors.

They coded the micro:bit to simulate structural colour in relation to the polar bear context.

Then, they chose a specific animal they wanted to represent (e.g., a Kingfisher might flash a specific sequence of blue, white, and orange) and programmed the LED to flash that signature pattern.

We tied this back to the importance of structural colour for future sustainability, sharing exciting research happening at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in Oxfordshire. They are currently looking into how science can mimic these natural structures to create more sustainable color solutions without heavy chemicals.

A Perfect Conclusion to a Big Bang Day

We ended the day with a wonderful photo opportunity with Ollie Woods, our host, ambassador, and leading partner.

Events like the Big Bang at Mountbatten School are vital. They allow us, as a charity, to bring our specific expertise in AI and physical computing into schools, supporting the incredible work that dedicated educators like Ollie are already doing. It was a privilege to work with Mountbatten’s articulate, creative, and curious young people, and we cannot wait to see what they build next.