‘How I learned to hack creativity’ – Story Hubs Forum Reflection
Story Hubs Forum, July 2026 image by Magenta Sheridan
The Story Hub Forum opened my eyes and my mind to how creativity is not only something belonging to the art-making process, but it is also useful in every aspect in our lives. Creativity is always embedded in our everyday life, from choosing what you want to wear today, trying a new food recipe for your lunch, turning a heavy and boring school subject into an enjoyable learning experience, or even trying different ways to solve your problems.
100 Story Building’s Creative Learning Lead, Paris Balla (They/Them) mentions that the word “creativity” seems to have gradually disappeared from the school curriculum and educational conversations. They explained how this can impact children, especially in their early stages of development, and how they can survive as creators with the rise of AI or other digital development. In the forum, the facilitators talked about “teaching hacks” as a way to position creativity as a powerful tool to tweak the formal curriculum to make it more fun and engaging, and more importantly to be something that students remember and carry with them into the future.
There was one activity that stuck with me, when the forum audience was asked “How would you teach ‘weight measurements’ in a way that is more fun and engaging for the students?” The response from the group was incredibly inventive and used creativity to find a new ways to adapt the lesson. For example, one teacher suggested asking students to bring 1kg of pasta? 1kg of rice? Or 1kg of sponge? Although all of these objects weigh the same, they look and feel completely different because of their materials and characteristics. I could imagine how surprising and exciting that activity would be for children, rather than memorising numbers on a page, they would experience the concept for themselves. This activity modelled how creative thinking can make the simplest of tasks more engaging and the importance of teaching from the children’s perspective and designing new learning experiences to get their attention and enthusiasm.
As someone attending as an outsider of the teaching profession, I saw the Story Hub Forum as a meaningful, purposeful, and positive activity, not only for educators but for everyone who cares about children's education. Engaging children to think, create and imagine with curiosity is something that we all need to take care of, especially with the rise of AI. I realise that creativity is the thing that differentiates us, so maintaining it and encouraging it is more important than ever - not only to solve our problems but also to express ourselves as human beings.
Written by Ramandhika Putranto, Intern 100 Story Building, July 2026
Ramandhika Putranto (he/him) is an international student from Indonesia at the University of Melbourne, currently undertaking a Master of Arts and Cultural Management. Ramandhika joins 100 Story Building for a 3-month internship, to gain professional experience in the arts and cultural sector.
