Workshops

Structured or drop-in

On this page you can find information about structured workshops; suitable for any settings where there are a fixed number of participants for a set amount of time (for example a classroom).

For information about Drop-in workshops where participants can come and go at any time (for example at an event or in a public space) please have a look at our Drop-in page.

All available workshops

Below is a brief summary of all available workshops. For more detailed descriptions please click here (soon).

Year 4 Sound & Circuits workshop & show

A perfect way to introduce the topics in Sc4/4.1 & Sc4/4.2, with ideas for teachers to run continued activites in-school.

This workshop and introductory show has been specifically designed to help year 4 pupils and teachers during the Electricity and Sound topics in year 4.

More information here.

Scavengers workshop

Upcycled electronics, Making, Tinkering, circuits, sound, sustainability

A set of workshops and activities based around use of upcycled e-waste material in practical activites that help our understanding of electronics, sound, technology and help us to understand the environmental implications of e-waste.

Cyber Scavengers workshop

In Cyber Scavengers we will use Redfern Crumbles (KS2) and/or Arduinos (KS3) to sequence our upcycled motors as they strum our acoustic ‘found’ objects, creating structured musical performances, coded by pupils. This workshop will work on it’s own or as a perfect follow-up to the Scavengers Tinkering workshop. We have a set of reconditioned laptops running on linux that we can provide, or we can use your school’s digital resources. This workshops involves physical circuitry connections and Making activities as well as coding.

Sonic Scavengers workshop

Using our special rubber-dipped contact microphones we will discover incredible hidden sounds in unexpected places: rubber bands, rulers, egg slicers, slinkys, radiators and so many more. We will delve into the world of vibrations and find out how they behave in solids, liquids and gases. We will use various micrphones to seek out the sounds hidden in vibrating water, metal and in the invisible electromagnetic fields around us.

Coding at Key Stage 2

• Available for: Key stage 2 or 3
• Maximum 16 participants (30 if computers are provided)
• 60 – 120 minutes

An accessible and fun intoroduction to programming and electronics. We don’t just use computers: we make things happen in the real world using Crumble controllers (programmable mini portable devices) connected to motors, LEDs and sensors. Visual (similar to Scratch) programming.

Find out more about the Crumble controller here.

Boing Zap Boom!

An exciting journey into strange and wonderful sounds hidden in everyday objects, with lots of hands-on experimentation, some rhythm games, a chance to perform in front of an audience and make a soundscape to tell a story.

The Broken workshop

We open our boxes, connect everything up and… nothing happens. Not surprising as more than 50% of the components and leads are faulty. So now we have to learn how to identify and diagnose multiple faults in our system, using a simple circuit tester that we make ourselves. We may even be able to repair some items.

National Curriculum information

The following programmes of study are covered in various workshops. Please see the individual workshop descriptions to see which are covered.

Sound

• Sc4/4.1a – Identify how sounds are made, associating some of them with something vibrating.
• Sc4/4.1b – Recognise that vibrations from sounds travel through a medium to the ear.
• Sc4/4.1c – Find patterns between the pitch of a sound and features of the object that produced it.
• Sc4/4.1d – Find patterns between the volume of a sound and the strength of the vibrations that produced it.
• Sc4/4.1e – Recognise that sounds get fainter as the distance from the sound source increases.

Electricity

• Sc4/4.2b – Construct a simple series electrical circuit.
• Sc4/4.2e – Recognise some common conductors and insulators.