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Grand Garden Designs

Young web designers are being given the chance to help create a brand new website for the York Museum Gardens.

The winning students aged between 11 and 19 will win a contract to help design and build the website worth up to £3,000.

To enter, students need to submit a proposal by January 30, with the shortlisted students then invited to give a presentation to experts in a Dragon’s Den style format in March 2015.

The competition has been created in partnership with NYBEP and European Researchers Night and is part of York Museums Trust’s Genesis programme.

Amy Baggaley, learning manager for York Museums Trust, said:

“The brief is to design a fun, informative and clear to understand website to help York Museums Trust promote York Museum Gardens.

“This isn’t an easy task – with everything from design, research, budget and marketing to be considered. But it is a fantastic opportunity to work with professionals to see your own ideas be turned into a real website that will sit alongside the rest of the York Museums Trust portfolio.”

The competition is officially launched on European Researchers Night at the Yorkshire Museum on September 26, from 5pm-8.30pm.  At the free event any interested students will be able to learn more about the project from members of the York Museums Trust team.

In the initial proposal, students will have to clearly state their proposals and the research they have done into design and who the site is aimed at. They must also show awareness of branding, marketing and ability to work to a budget.

The brief for the website is wide. Key information about the Gardens and visiting the space must be included, but the rest is up to the designers. It could include, games, maps, trails, orienteering routes, or smart phone apps.

The project can be undertaken by a team or by an individual.

It is hoped the winning website will be launched in September 2015.

York Museum Gardens facts

  • 10 Acre Botanical Gardens, created in the 1830s when the Yorkshire Museum was built.
  • More than two million visitors a year.
  • Remains of the west corner tower of York’s Roman Fort (Multangular Tower).
  • Ruins of the 13th Century St Mary’s Abbey.
  • Remains of St Leonard’s Hospital chapel and undercroft.
  • York Observatory built in 1832.
  • Home to many of species of plants, trees and wildlife, including the tansy Beetle, an endangered species.