Workshops

Holiday workshops: Doughnut or mug? Adventures in topology (ages 15–18)

In this workshop for 15–18 year-olds, students will explore topology, the world of 3D shapes and the mysteries within.

Students in a classroom looking at a presenter bending a ruler
Image credit: Tim Mitchell

In this workshop with Nikoleta Kalaydzhieva, students will explore the intriguing world of mathematical shapes, known as topology. This often brain-tangling area of mathematics gets you thinking laterally, and far beyond our three dimensional world, into some crazy possibilities of multi-dimensional spaces. 

Students will see how 3D shapes can have only one side, and what interesting things you can find when you cut these shapes up. They will also investigate ideas of orientation, what it means for two shapes to be connected, and even extend their thinking out into the fourth dimension.

This workshop is strictly for 15–18 year-olds and will include a 30 minute lunch break, during which students will be allowed to leave the Ri building. 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. 

Please note that closed toe shoes must be worn as this workshop takes place in our lab. 

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.

About Nikoleta Kalaydzhieva

Nikoleta Kalaydzhieva is a Lecturer in Maths at UCL, spending her time doing research in number theory. She has recently completed a PhD researching Pell's equation, a topic which has been studied for over 2000 years. As well as giving masterclasses at the Ri, she is involved in lots of outreach activities at UCL. She is also Head of AI and Analytics Research at Flaireturns, a social media fintech platform.  In her spare time, Niki enjoys dancing bachata, kizomba and salsa.

About our workshops

Holiday workshops at the Royal Institution give students a hands-on experience of STEM topics (science, technology, engineering, maths) beyond what they learn at school. Working in groups or pairs, students will get hands-on to complete activities, challenges or projects which help them look deeper at the subject they are exploring. These workshops don’t follow the school curriculum but instead show students the many real world uses of STEM topics, expanding their horizons beyond the classroom to see the amazing possibilities science can give you. Sessions are led by experts from across industry and academia who will share with the students their excitement and knowledge of their areas of expertise.

For any queries regarding this workshop please email events@ri.ac.uk.

Support to attend holiday workshops

The Potential Trust may be able to offer financial assistance to enable children to participate in Ri events and activities if this would otherwise be financially difficult. Please contact Denise Yates, or at their new email address here

 

 

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