Joyful Jurassic Crafts

About

Join us on an adventure of rewilding and reconnecting.

Drop In | £2.50 Per Child, Under 3s FREE

This Summer, we will be taking inspiration from our Dippy installation, visiting from the Natural History Museum, and celebrating nature and making as explored in our 'JOY' exhibition. Join us on an adventure of rewilding and reconnecting with natural Jurassic environments, exploring fossils, and sowing ideas of greening to craft our way through the summer holidays.

Daily Activities:

Week 1: Sustainable Jurassic Environments

Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 July

Eggstraordinary Dinosaurs:

We will be delving into the art of art of junk modelling to reimagine the nations favourite dinosaur, Dippy. We will undertake the challenge of constructing an entire dinosaur (body, face, tail, legs) from recycled egg boxes and cardboard rolls. We will then bring the wild creature to life by embellishing with ping pong ball eyes, colourful tissue paper, and vibrant paint, to take your glorious creations home. *(We will have hair dryers available on the day to speed the drying process).

Thursday 8, Friday 9, Saturday 10 July

Pastel Picturesque Dinosaurs:

Immerse yourself into a wild nature-scape and discover beautiful scenes of wildlife, using dry pastel to express your imagination onto recycled brown card. Using fun and versatile techniques, bring your artwork to life, drawing colourful flowers, plants and adventurous dinosaurs playing in their natural habitats.

Week 2: Botanical Gardens & Rewilding Wildflowers

Saturday 27, Monday 29, Tuesday 30, Wednesday 31 July:

Kokedama Hanging Garden:

Taking inspiration from the luscious hanging garden displayed in the Joy exhibition, children will work with natural materials including yarn, a mixture of soils (bonsai, non-peat soil), moss and green plants. Using these fresh materials, children will construct their very own Kokedamas (meaning moss ball in Japanese), they can then hang these stunning creations and watch the plants grow in their home.

Thursday 1, Friday 2, Saturday 3 August:

Wildflower Seed Bombs:

In this workshop we will focus on the art of rewilding, which involves restoring the landscape for the wellbeing and health of humans, resulting in more natural places for us to connect with ourselves and other living beings. We will explore different styles and methods to form seed bombs to then sow a beautiful array of wildflowers in the great outdoors. Children will have the opportunity to experiment with using natural ingredients such as flour, soil, construction paper, powder and clay, before sowing their seed bombs to sow in a pot, flowerbed, patch in the lawn or a meadow.

Week 3: Fossils & Ceramics

Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14 August

Salt Dough Dinosaur Fossils:

Spend the school holidays making an assortment of dinosaur fossils. We will put together a salt dough mixture using flour, water and salt. Children will then add their favourite dinosaur impressions to the dough, and then dazzle them with metallic paint before taking them home to dry for 2-7 days. A fun dinosaur craft activity to enjoy!

Thursday 15, Friday 16, Saturday 17 August

Jurassic Mosaic Masterpieces:

Using mosaic tiles form a colorful picture including dinosaurs, forests of ferns, volcanoes and large landscapes. Once your masterpiece is complete, take home your beautiful creation to display in your home or garden.

Week 4: Play & Create

Monday 19, Tuesday 20, Wednesday 21 August

Melty Play Beads:

Get creative with bold, bright and fun designs using Hama beads this school holiday. Get creative with designing a dinosaur, your favourite flower, your initials or even experiment with block colours and zigzag patterns; let your imagination go wild. Transform you opened-ended play artwork into a wall piece, jewellery or a precious gift to give to a friend.

Thursday 22, Friday 23, Saturday 24 August

Create Colourful Coasters:

In this workshop we use a selection of natural willow branch slices, to beautifully combine visual art and nature, into your very own coaster. Taking inspiration from the Jurassic period, draw illustrations of nature and wildlife onto your wooden circles, and experiment with a colourful array of acrylic paints and fine paint brushes to add a dimension of detail. Take home and use your amazing textured art pieces.

Week 5 Totes Full of Joy

Monday 26, Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28 August:

Fabric Paint Tie Dye Totes:

Design your very own tie dye tote bag, using watered down fabric paints and elastic bands; This will result in a joyful explosion of expressive colours. This will get a little messy; gloves and aprons will be provided on the day. Please note, once rinsed through, you will need to dry your finished item at home.

Thursday 29, Friday 30, Saturday 31 August:

Eco Dye Totes with Flowers:

Learn the art of Eco printing to create your own pressed flower nature design.  We will press the flowers onto cotton totes using the process of flower pounding/hammering with wooden mallets. Children then take home their stunning naturally printed tote bags, to carry their precious belongings and show their family and friends.