list.co.uk/kids Previews | KIDS
FESTIVAL EVENT SCIENCE SUNDAY BIG BIRTHDAY BASH Hunter Halls, University of Glasgow, Sun 19 Jun
Turning double figures is an important milestone for everyone, and cake usually plays a vital role in the festivities. Which is why Glasgow Science Festival is inviting people to create a science-themed cake to help celebrate its tenth birthday.
The cake competition is just one aspect of the Science Sunday Big Birthday Bash, a day devoted to hands-on fun and interactive learning. ‘When you get the opportunity to use equipment and tools, it really brings things you hear about and read in textbooks to life,’ says festival director Deborah McNeill. ‘It’s so much more memorable and engaging, and really good fun. We’ve developed lots of creative ways to share what researchers are up to and hope we can offer a new experience to families.’ A drop-in event for all ages, this year’s Science Sunday includes activities
about balloons, the Glasgow accent and glow-in-the-dark jellyfish, as well as featuring a sports roadshow for kids to start getting active. Plus, there are lots of clever folk on hand to clue you in. ‘All our activities are developed and run by Glasgow University staff and students, so there’s a huge amount of knowledge in the room,’ says McNeill. ‘While people are getting hands-on with the interactive elements, they can talk to researchers and ask tricky questions. We also blend science with arts and crafts, to make sure even little ones can get stuck in.’ (Kelly Apter)
FAMILY FUN MERCHANT CITY FESTIVAL Various venues, Merchant City, Glasgow, Sat 30 Jul–Sun 7 Aug
For 51 weeks of the year it’s just a series of roads and pavements. But for one week each summer, Glasgow’s Merchant City becomes a hotbed of creativity. Street performers, dancers, acrobats and musicians do their thing, inspiring the rest of us to channel our artistic side.
‘The atmosphere at the Merchant City Festival is vibrant, dynamic and fun,’
says artist Katie Fowlie who runs the Family Zone in Merchant Square. ‘It’s terrific to see children come through the door each day bursting to let out some of their own energy and ideas. Our job in the Family Zone is to give them an encouraging and inspiring environment in which to do so.’ Free to enter and open from noon–4pm each day, the Family Zone is just one of several opportunities to get hands-on during the festival, much of which has been inspired by the Year of Innovation, Architecture & Design.
Each day, Fowlie and her team will offer a different activity, including invention,
design and construction, printmaking and toy making, with all materials provided.
‘There are precious few opportunities for children to learn through creative play,’ says Fowlie, ‘and the beauty of our sessions is that participants can learn, explore and produce something surprising and unique. We hope they will go on to create their own fun, relying purely on a good dose of imagination.’ (Kelly Apter)
FESTIVAL NATURE FESTIVAL AT THE CHILDREN’S WOOD The Children’s Wood, Glasgow, Sun 5 Jun
They say nature finds a way: on a patch of land in Glasgow’s North Kelvinside that’s certainly been the case. When a former sports ground became derelict, trees began to sprout until eventually, a small woodland developed – which brought about a similar blossoming in the local community, as people rallied to save the area now known as The Children’s Wood. Following a long-running battle with Glasgow City Council, who want the land sold to property developers, the decision is now in the hands of the Scottish Government. A prominent campaigner is actor Tam Dean Burn, who will put his talents to good use at the Wood’s upcoming Nature Festival.
‘The Children’s Wood is an incredible community resource,’ says Burn. ‘It draws people together in a way that would have been impossible otherwise, so that children can play outdoors, wilder and freer than in playgrounds.’
Part of the West End Festival, it will feature mini beast hunts,
den building, mud kitchen play and lots of fun opportunities to connect with nature. ‘These sorts of things go on weekly at the Children’s Wood,’ explains Burn. ‘They’ve become part of the whole ethos of the place, and the Nature Festival is a celebration of everything that’s been happening there.’ Burn’s part in the day will be an exuberant delivery of Julia
Donaldson’s Stick Man, as well as singing some of the author’s nature-orientated songs – although his outfit for the occasion is still undecided. ‘Julia has been hugely supportive of the campaign, and her books are always a real favourite,’ says Burn. ‘Stick Man is about the very basics of nature, going on adventures, then recognising that family is still the most important thing. At previous readings I’ve dressed up as a stick in a brown leotard – but I don’t think I’ll inflict that on people again.’ (Kelly Apter)
2 Jun–1 Sep 2016 THE LIST 77 2 Jun–1 Sep 2016 THE LIST 77