Holiday workshops: Build like bucky (ages 12 - 14)

What if the strongest shape in the world… isn’t a square? In this hands-on architecture and design workshop, participants explore the bold ideas of Buckminster Fuller—an innovator who believed that triangles, not rectangles, were nature’s true building blocks.
Participants will investigate how geometry shapes the world around us, from honeycombs to domes to molecules. They’ll learn why a three-sided pyramid is stronger than it looks, and how geodesic structures use simple shapes to create lightweight, stable forms. Along the way, they’ll experiment with different methods of making using art straws, cocktail sticks, polystyrene balls, and modular origami. A final challenge lets participants test their ideas using cocktail sticks and marshmallows to build a dome structure of their own design.
“Build Like Bucky” stretches spatial awareness, creativity, and engineering intuition in a fun, engaging setting. It links geometry and design to real-world ideas—and encourages young people to reimagine how we think about space, strength, and structure.

This workshop is strictly for 12 - 14 year-olds.

Refunds can only be issued for tickets cancelled at least two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance of the event date. Please note that this supersedes our normal event terms and conditions.

Image credit: Freddie Rodgers

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Host or Publisher The Royal Institution