Festival of Stuff: Open day

Festival of Stuff

Join us at the Institute of Making to celebrate the sheer joy of stuff as we hosts our greatest ever public extravaganza on Saturday 25th June to mark the finale of our annual Festival of Stuff.

The Festival of Stuff consists of four days of bookable masterclasses, leading up to a one day open-house, drop-in, street festival with a whole host of curious things to get stuck in making and doing.

The first 450 visitors can enjoy a delicious and refreshing ice lolly: Raspberry & Basil or Elderflower Lemonade, handmade by the crew at Happy Endings. Come along and explore the sound of materials by making a whistle from a humble carrot and joining in with the brass band DatBrass. Explore our selection of unusual tuning forks and have a go on a 3D printed violin. Join sound artist Tim Yates to explore his lastest machine, Curio No. 1, which is made of everyday objects programmed with an Arduino. Have a go at an industrial-scale, upcycled gong and explore the secret of sounds made by a coat hanger. Have a try at playing muscial instrucments made from recycled materials with Vulpestruments.

Watch the only remaining master clog makers, Jeremy Atkinson, carve, chisel, cut leather, hammer, to form a traditional clog. Upholster and chair cainer Rachael South, will be asking members of the public to help construct a bench by the end of the day. Join printmaker Faye McNulty to test a specialist dye process and transform an embroidered festival badge into a uniquely patterned souvenir. Glass artist Jochen Holz will demo the more unexpected sides of glass blowing including sound effects, a super thin bubble and glass fiber pulling. Make your own jewellery with jeweler Sian Evans, who will be showing how to cast semi-precious stones into a cuttlefish pewter cast.

Designers and makers, Silo Studio, will be showcasing their latest project, Newton’s Bucket. Inspired by an experiment conducted by Sir Issac Newton, their machine uses a turntable, a hollow hemisphere, water and non-toxic resins to create a bowl that captures a moment in time. Make your own colourful Not-So-Expanded Polystyrene pencil, using fabric moulds and polystyrene granules. Get your engineer's cap on and have a go at building a structure that could withstand an earthquake!

Make a paintbrush out of a single hair, feathers, optical fibres and other materials with designer Rachel Colley. Explore pigments made from unusual materials and experiment with colour inspired by artefacts from UCL Museums and Collections. UCL's Robotics department will be showcasing their latest creation, The Prof Tickle Machine. Designed to feed you breakfast without leaving bed, the incredibly long robotic arm is one of a kind. Chemists and physicists will be exploring colloids, silver and gold nanoparticles and help them make nanoparticle stained glass. Talk to researcher Richard Jackson and Institute of Making director Mark Miodownik about their latest EPSRC project, Self-Healing Cities, to develop robots to repair roads.