1. The Royal Institution (Ages 7 – 18)
The RI in Mayfair (Green Park is 5 mins away), is a charity with a clear mission that is set on ‘encouraging people to think further about the wonders and applications of science’. Home to the famous Christmas Lectures, The Faraday Museum and the L’Oreal Young Scientist Centre.
They host family fun days about 3/4 times a year (usually in half terms between 11am-4pm), and we can’t recommend them highly enough. You get full access to the whole building, and the activities are well thought out for kids to be able to drop in and out of, and each station has an educator present, ready to help the kids, answer any questions, and mainly have a bit of fun with the science games. The tickets are priced around £14 for adults, and £7 for kids and they advise the event is for kids aged 8-12, but everyone is welcome (check online at the time of booking).
Book you tickets to see THE TURNER TWINS: WORLD FIRST ADVENTURERS BY THE RI, FRIDAY 11TH AUGUST, 6PM (7+) here
Each Summer they run a line up of workshops for 3 age groups. You can see the latest Summer ’17 brochure online here.
I can’t think of a better place for our clever-clog children to be inspired about science and maths, and advise that you get online now, as the places are filling up fast. FYI, for some fun prep over the holidays, take a look at the interactive games online here.
A selection of the courses: Week Long Summer School for 16-18 yrs or Week Long Summer school for 13-15 yrs, or Summer school workshop for 7-10 yrs. Sign up to their email alerts, and find out what’s coming up here. If you want mycultureclub.com to take care of your bookings for you, just drop me aline, or check out the site over here. sian.gwilliam@me.com
2. Mad Science Group (Ages 4-11)
Founded in Canada by 2 brothers at their local YMCA, this global company (with franchises) believe that teaching science invites children to pursue their interest and, ultimately, a career in science – thus, helping to preserve our very special and cherished scientific heritage.
As well as across the UK, they operate in the following locations across the South East : Islington, Wimbledon, Ealing, Finchley, Harrow, Putney, Isleworth, Highgate, Hillingdon, Hampstead. The website isn’t that easy to navigate, and you need to contact the local organiser directly for more information, though we like that their priority seems to be a learning through play, so on this premise, and with their more localised camp centres, keep the site on your bookmark list.
Normal Costs: £35 per child per day Week Rate: £160 per child/week (5 days) or £128 per child/week (4 days) GROUP BOOKING DISCOUNT: Book and pay for 5 or more children for the same day and each child comes along for £28 per day!
Times: daily 10am-3pm (please bring a packed lunch and drink: Online Booking: By phone – 0208 832 7447 : By email – madsciencelondon.alkaline@gmail.com
3. Fun Tech Summer Camps (ages 6-18)
The founding partners of FunTech are Philip and Sheineez Barber. They run a range of tech day and residential courses covering all manner of tech skills, including Robotz, 3D Game X, Minecraft Redstone, Java Coder, Code Breakers, Minecraft Mods, 3D Digital Modelling & Animation, FunTyper Intensive, Game Pro, Ultimate IT, Creative IT, Advanced IT, Animation, FunTyper, Essentials
The courses are located across the South East, in Maidenhead, Richmond, Elstree, Hampstead, Northwood, Tunbridge Wells, Oxford, Tonbridge (Residential) & Reading. More information online.
4. Mother Nature Science (Ages 5-12)
Mother Nature Science Holiday Camps (5-12 years) run twice yearly during the Summer and Easter Holidays (but not during half-term breaks). Our Scientists will ensure your children ‘get ahead in science’ this holidays with action packed programmes of hands-on activities exploring a spectacular array of scientific themes and topics. Every day is filled with science experiments to make & take home.
Prices : £225 per child per week (5 days)
5. Little House of Science (Ages 3-8)
Set up by three ladies who love kids, their aim is to offer a foundation for youngsters to answer their own questions about the world we live in and they like to think of themselves as creating or fostering the spark for the next generation of scientists.
They offer weekly science workshops for younger kids in Chelsea, High Street Kensington, South Kensington, Notting Hill and Marylebone. Sessions include interactive talks and experiments, topics set on learning about Life, Earth, Space, Motion, Gravity and the influential scientists Galileo and Newton. Each session will offer a take home project and parent/ carer notes too. During term time classes run from Monday to Friday at 3/4/5pm and on Saturdays at 3pm. They also offer science parties.
It doesn’t stop there, here are more suggestions for ways to get kids into Science…
To read up on science, geography and interesting facts in the ‘Kids magazines’ post here and here. I am a huge fan of Okido and Anorak magazines for inspiring these subjects in a fun and entertaining way through brilliant illustration and writing. Also, the brilliant MiniEco blog from Kate Lilley is another fun resource for DIY crafts. Your kids can enjoy great online games from some of these kids websites, or you could invest in her book full of crafts for the Summer.
Every child loves a day out at The Natural History Museum or The Science Museum, the BBCLearning website is a great resource and has online courses, curriculum based activities, and lots more and no child in the land should be content without knowing how to code, so enroll on some coding courses at Codasign, and read about a truly inspiring young lady here.
Note: Photos courtesy of the RI
Creative Bus Stop 