Workshops

Holiday workshops: Building with STIXX (ages 7–8)

In this workshop for 7–8 year olds, students will build giant 3D structures using geometric shapes.

Students building structures with newspaper solid cane
Image credit: Ri

Participants will be working as Civil Engineers with some Mechanical Engineering aspects. They will participate in all the stages of a real-life construction project being design, construction, reflection and use, followed by demolition. Working in a team of six, students will design and then construct a shelter large enough for the whole team to get into at the same time, using one simple resource: newspaper. The students will use a hand operated STIXX machine to turn six sheets of newspaper into a solid structural rod, then join the rods together with re-usable cable ties to build their structures. For those teams that complete the initial challenge early they can further display their creativity by building opening doors for their structures.

In addition to using their Engineering skills, the participants will be using their life/transferable skills including teamwork, communication, problem solving, resilience, time management etc.

This workshop is strictly for ages 9-11 only.

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.

About Jeremy King

Jeremy King is an Engineer and science communicator, who worked as a Chartered Civil Engineer for thirty years, building motorways, power stations, multi-storey office blocks and more. He now works around the country, running workshops for over 8000 students a year.

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 Anna Comino-James preferably via telephone on +44 (0)1844 351666, or at their new email address potentialtrust@gmail.com. Once a bursary is agreed, you will make your workshop bookings directly with the Ri.

Event terms and conditions

Closed 3rd and 4th April

The Ri is closed to the public on Thursday 3rd & Friday 4th April