Workshops
Science, Music, Making, Coding, e-waste
Schools (Primary, Secondary, Special), Home-Ed, Further Education, teacher-training
Price guideline: £350 – 2 X 1 hour workshops (or 1 show & 1 workshop), £75 each extra
Workshop
Info link
Age recommendation
numbers
Topics
Description
KS2, KS3
whole class/35
Circuits & electricity, waste,
Experimenting with current and building noisy electrical machines from e-waste
KS2, KS3, KS4
Coding & logic
+ Making & design (project)
Coding Buggies to avoid obstacles and Battle!
Project: + designing & building your own Buggy
year 6 and up
15 max
Circuits, EM waves,
science history
Build a mini radio transmitter, learn about the Spark era
KS2 and up
16/half class
Music; rhythm, vocal,
Accessible games for everyone to gain confidence in following direction, communication and creating musical ideas.
Improvisation Games
KS2 and up
15 max
Music; improvisation, using instruments,
Taking it in turns to conduct the ensemble, who use all kinds of instruments to create original music.
The Science of Music
KS4, KS5 and up
15 max
Music composition, Sound Design & music technology
Innovative techniques for generating, recording & manipulating sounds without using computers. Acoustic objects, analogue hardware and hacked tech.
Photo: Manchester Cultural Educational Partnerships
Circuit Scavengers
Electrical and magnetic forces, circuits, working scientifically
Test your Nose and electrocute your friends! Using up-cycled e-waste we will build a Robot Chicken device, learning about the electrical and magnetic forces and circuit components.
Versions for Key Stage 2 & 3. Ages 7 – 14
Duration: 45 – 60 minutes
Maximum participants: 35 (more with support)
Scavenger Sounds
Stand-alone workshop or follow-on from Circuit Scavengers.
Just like Frankenstein we will use electricity to re-animate dead things… we use hacked e-waste to generate musical textures and patterns, then we use contact microphones to amplify hidden sounds. What does an egg slicer sound like?
Versions for Key Stage 2, 3 & 4. Ages 7 – 16
Duration: 45-90 minutes
Maximum participants: 35
Photo: Science & Media Museum school’s day
Buggy Battles – project (full day
Design & make your own intelligent (ish) buggy out of recycled materials, program it to sense the environment, set it to Battle. If you want to try some coding but don’t want to be stuck at a computer the whole time then try this out. Fun and practical applications of coding and logic that encourage experimentation to achieve clear goals. Battles are fun and not overly competitive.
Versions for Key Stage 2, 3 & 4. Ages 7 – 16
Duration: 5 hours – 1 full day or split.
Maximum participants: 35
Learning Objectives:
- coding and logic
- environmental sensors
- hardware electrical connections
- de-bugging
- Design, engineering & Making
- What is AI? (this isn’t) understanding more about AI
Buggy Battles – workshop
Program a Buggy Clone to avoid obstacles and sense it’s environment. We try some different tactics so that our Buggy can stay standing, then we put them all in an arena and let them bimble around.
Versions for Key Stage 2,3 & 4. Ages 7 – 16
Duration: 90 minutes
Maximum participants: 18
Learning Objectives:
- coding and logic
- environmental sensors
- de-bugging
- using code to affect the behaviour of machines
- What is AI? (this isn’t)
Spark Gap Radio
Build a radio transmitter and Morse Code buzzer. When you see the spark, noisy radio frequencies are transmitted, and can be received (within a 1-metre range) with small AM radios.
Suitable for year 6 and up. Ages 10 +
Duration: 30-45 minutes
Maximum participants: 15
Learning Objectives:
- Electrical Circuits
- Electromagnetic force
- Electromagnetic Waves
- History of Science; the Spark Era
Photo: Greenhill Primary School
Circle Music
Circle games to help us gain confidence using our voices and bodies as instruments. We don’t need anything else! Suitable for groups with or without previous musical training.
Suitable for Key Stage 2 and up. Ages 7 – 79
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Maximum participants: whole class /35
Learning Objectives:
- rhythms and time-keeping
- singing & vocal exercises
- improvising musical patterns
- music-making in an ensemble
- non-verbal communication
Improvisation Games
For groups with or without previous musical training. Using familiar instruments and some Noisy Toys we take it in turns to conduct the ensemble and create original music. It’s easier than you think!
Suitable for Key Stage 2 and up. Ages 7 – 1000
Duration: 45-90 minutes
Maximum participants: 15
Learning Objectives:
- confidence to express original ideas
- playing in an ensemble
- listening and adapting ideas
- rhythmic skills
- using acoustic and electronic instruments
- non-verbal communication
Photo: Greta Santagata, Camper Calling Festival