Summer has arrived and that means a long break from school for all the kiddies of Britain.
It can be easy to quickly exhaust all of your ideas to keep them occupied in this time, especially since the prospect of running around outside all day every day isn’t too hopeful in a British August. So, we thought we’d help you out with some techie ways to entertain your children this holiday.
At-Bristol
A place full of wonder and excitement, a trip to Bristol’s famous interactive science museum is guaranteed to be a memorable day out.
With a plethora of activities to get stuck into, it’s impossible to be lost for ideas here. Over the next month, the centre is hosting a series of dedicated events that end on 21 July including, Experimentation Station, Kitchen Chaos and Hanging Gardens.
And of course, there’s the UK’s only 3D planetarium, for the times you may feel like sending your kids to another planet. Throughout the holidays, there will be Summer Stargazing 3D sessions for over 6’s to introduce them to our fascinating universe.
Opening times:
- 10am – 5pm, Monday to Friday (during term time)
- 10am – 6pm, Weekends, Bank Holidays and Bristol school holidays
Prices:
- Adults from £15.30
- Child from £9.90
- 2s and under FREE
Code Club
Code Club wants to inspire the next generation by showing them what they can create with the power of code. Designed for 9 to 11-year-olds, the volunteer-led after school club is free to attend and helps children grasp the basics of the fun animation tool, Scratch, HTML & CSS and Python through a gamified basis.
The programme also supports, “active clubs with a range of extra resources like certificates and posters, as well as competitions and offers”.
Now having established 10,000 code clubs with 75 projects for more than 82,000 kids, it’s safe to say the organisers know what they’re doing.
West Town Lane Academy’s Code Club even had the chance to visit the Engine Shed to meet pioneering tech startups such as Opposable Games, YellowDog, Interactive Scientific and Aptcore to be inspired by the amazing things coding can produce.
Digital Makers at the Guild
Every Saturday from 12:30 – 2:30 pm the Guild is hosting its one of a kind Digital Makers event for children aged 8-15.
Kids are welcome here to learn all about coding. Digital Makers gives you the opportunity to get hands-on with everything from designing and creating your own emojis to building interactive games. And if your child prefers the physical tech, there are soldering electronic kits to play with as well as the chance to program Ozobots, microbits and a parrot drone via Tickle on the iPads.
So, bring your children along to Digital Makers to unlock their techie talents!
Fire Tech Camp
With the aim to bring, “the power of tech skills to all kids”, Fire Tech Camp is working hard to create engaging, exciting schemes to get everyone involved. Fire Tech Camp is eager to become a hub for young people and families to learn more about all the wonderful things tech can give us.
There’s the option of Day Camps, Residential, Afterschool and Weekends with a lot of courses to pick from! Each range in age and in price so make sure you check that out before applying.
The Royal Institution (RI)
The Royal Institution is hosting a multitude of events designed to bring STEM subjects to life. Some of the hands-on workshops involve, “making explosive bath bombs, extracting their own DNA, investigating forensic science and exploring the chemistry of colour”. You have the chance to pick days to attend throughout the summer – but be quick because they’re in high demand!
There’s the option to get stuck in with the activities or to leave your kids to it, either way, they’re guaranteed to have fun whilst learning a lot at these fantastically curated workshops.
Additionally, RI hosts Family Fun Days to give all of the family an opportunity to take part in an interactive day of science. The team emphasises that the day is fully flexible, you could come for 30 minutes or stick around for the whole day.
To take on the challenge of bringing science home, RI set up ExpeRimental. It’s a series of short films that give you great ideas and inspiration on how you can introduce fun science activities into your household using only simple household objects – so you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to get your kids excited about science!
The Watershed
Does your child have a birthday coming up in the school holidays? Why not hire a cinema room at the Watershed for a private screening or computer gaming!
Most don’t get the chance to experience their favourite computer game on the big screen, so we guarantee this would be a birthday to remember. Any of the 3 cinemas are available for hire weekend mornings from 10:00 – 13:00.
Bath Digital Festival
And here’s one for when the summer ends. From 17-22 October 2017, the Bath Digital Festival returns! Its slogan is ‘Tech for Everyone’ and is set to be its most inclusive event yet.
The 6-day celebration of all things tech in the city of Bath already has a fantastic line-up that continues to grow. Each day will encompass a different theme, from Digital Creativity on Tuesday 17 where you can hone in on existing skills as well as learn how to broaden your horizon when it comes to being creative in the digital world, to Digital Future day on Saturday 21 to explore technical challenges the future holds – organisers encourage all to join the ‘digital playground’ to experience events for the whole family to enjoy.
Want more info? You can visit Bath Digital Festival’s line-up page for details on what to expect.
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