Workshops

Holiday workshops: Spectacular colour chemistry (ages 12–14)

Discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured, and how Chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce dyes.

Image credit: Katherine Leedale

In this workshop students will discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured, and how chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce dyes and pigments.

The session will begin with a brief overview of light and colour mixing. This leads on to a discussion of how colour arises through removal of specific wavelengths of light, and both additive and subtractive colour mixing. The students then discover how chemical bonding can lead to colour, and they produce both natural and synthetic dyes. The final part of the workshop pitches the students against a ‘real-life’ analytical chemistry scenario during which they will devise their own experiment using aspects of concentration, pH and colourimetry to solve a colourful problem.

About the Young Scientist Centre

The Young Scientist Centre (YSC) is an imaginative science laboratory at the heart of the Ri, where young people aged 7–18 can experiment and explore science and technology outside the classroom. In a YSC workshop, students become a scientist for the day, testing their own ideas by designing creative experiments. The whole experience ignites a passion for scientific discovery and encourages curiosity-driven learning.

Students are given the time and space to experiment. Not constrained by time to produce a ‘right’ result, students work as professional research scientists do: in response to their observations, encouraging curiosity-driven learning. And just as in the best research laboratories, students have access to advanced technology and experiments outside the remit of the normal school curriculum, making this an experience to remember.

For any queries regarding this workshop please get in touch by phone 020 7409 2992 or email events@ri.ac.uk.

This workshop is strictly for 12–14 year-olds and will include a 30 minute lunch break. Students should bring lunch and a drink. We reserve the right to refund or deny entry to those who are not in this age range.

Refunds can only be issued for tickets cancelled at least two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance of the event date. Please note that this supersedes our normal event terms and conditions. Please also note that Eventbrite adds a small booking fee to the amount paid for each ticket option.

Covid guidelines

Face masks are no longer mandatory and wearing one in our Theatre and at other Ri events is at your discretion, however please do not attend the Ri if you are displaying Covid symptoms or, if you have tested, the result remains positive. Thank you for respecting other people and their choices, and for helping us keep all of our visitors and staff safe and well.

Event terms and conditions