Workshops

Holiday workshops: Designing for plants (ages 9–11)

Perfect for curious minds, this session blends architecture and design.

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In this hands-on workshop, children become eco-architects tasked with designing the perfect miniature home—not for a human, but for a plant! By working with real seedlings and exploring the basic needs of living systems, students learn to think empathetically and creatively. Guided by the question “What would a plant want from its home?”, children explore how living things depend on light, air, water, and warmth to grow—and how architecture can respond to these needs through clever, child-led design.

“Designing for Plants” blends elements of science, citizenship, and creativity into a joyful, memorable experience where the young architect is in charge—and the client has roots!

This workshop is strictly for ages 9-11 only. 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