Workshops

Holiday workshops: Build like Bucky (ages 12-14)

This fun and engaging workshop explores geometry and engineering.

Image credit: Tim Mitchell

What if the strongest shape in the world… isn’t a square? In this hands-on architecture and design workshop, students aged 12–14 explore the bold ideas of Buckminster Fuller—an innovator who believed that triangles, not rectangles, were nature’s true building blocks.

Students will investigate how geometry shapes the world around us, from honeycombs to domes to molecules. They’ll learn why the tetrahedron—a three-sided pyramid—is stronger than it looks, and how geodesic structures use simple shapes to create lightweight, stable forms. Along the way, they’ll experiment with different methods of making using art straws,cocktail sticks, polystyrene balls, and modular origami.

The workshop combines individual thinking and collaborative teamwork, with plenty of discussion, drawing, and building. A final challenge lets students test their ideas using cocktail sticks and marshmallows to build a dome structure of their own design.

“Build Like Bucky” stretches spatial awareness, creativity, and engineering intuition in a fun, engaging setting. It links geometry and design to real-world ideas—and encourages young people to reimagine how we think about space, strength, and structure.

This workshop is strictly for 12–14 year-olds. 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.

About Philip Wells

Philip Wells is a Chartered Architect and founder of a RIBA-accredited architectural practice, with a passion for creative learning and education outreach. Since 2014, he has delivered architecture-based workshops in schools across Central and SW London and is an active RIBA Architectural Ambassador. His past work includes serving as Lead Architect on the award winning Halley VI Antarctic Research Station (Hugh Broughton Architects) and contributing to the Millennium Bridge in London at Foster + Partners. Philip specialises in using architecturaldesign to unlock creative thinking in young people through hands-on, curriculum-connected experiences.

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

 

 

Event terms and conditions