Festival of Stuff: Morning Session - Material Explorations

Festival of Stuff Member Events Public Events

Join the Institute of Making to explore a material through a range of stations from shaping, breaking, melting and joining. Upon arrival there will be a selection of parcels each with a different material inside in three states (for example, clay when wet, dry, liquid) then it's time to get experimenting. Participants will be given the chance to take an experimental approach to the study of a mystery material, subjecting it to a range of making processes.

What happens when you subject a material to a variety of processes, can you create a new material or a new way of using that material?

At each station there will be Institute of Making staff on hand to assist with the specialist tools, so no need to worry about needing prior making experience.

During the session take inspiration from our Materials Library’s curious collection to see, touch, discuss, play with and learn more about the extraordinary material world that surrounds us.

The Materials Library is a collection of some of the most wondrous materials on earth, gathered from sheds, labs, grottoes and repositories around the world. It is a resource, laboratory, studio and playground for the curious and material-minded to conduct hands-on research through truly interdisciplinary inquiry and innovation.