Learning Book now
Workshops for schools
Our facilitated workshops give students a new perspective on the role of designers and the impact of design throughout everyday life. Each topic invites students to get hands-on with a curated handling collection of real-life products and materials.
Suitable for Key Stages 2-5.
Please note we are reshaping our Schools Programme so you will see some changes in our offer. Please contact learning@designmuseum.org if you have any questions.
All workshops take place on-site at the Design Museum in Kensington, London.
Our facilitators kick off each session by introducing students to the museum and some key terms and concepts. This is followed by object handling to develop product analysis and evaluation skills, before inviting students to step into the designer’s shoes, using their new understanding and observations to inform their own response to a sample user-centred brief. Students will be encouraged to share and offer feedback on these initial ideas and sketches with the rest of the group. We invite teachers to get involved in this peer review process too!
All workshop topics support the National Curriculum for Design and Technology, with several incorporating learning links to additional STEAM subjects.
Learning outcomes include:
Observation
Product handling and evaluation skills
Drawing
Generating and presenting ideas
Responding to a design brief
Design thinking
Session format:
Duration: 1 hour
Cost: £125 (VAT exempt)
Capacity: Up to 30 students
Availability: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during term-time (based on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea academic calendar). Up to 2 sessions are available in a day as standard, with two slots running between 10:30–12:45. Please check our online ticketing portal to see availability.
You can visit our Schools and Learning Groups webpage for information regarding our code of conduct, safeguarding, accessibility and risk assessments. Further details of these and more important information to know before you book are in our Terms & Conditions for Learning Groups webpage.
Please read our Terms & Conditions for Learning Groups before booking.
All Learning Groups with students aged 7–18 years old can book workshops online through our ticketing portal by clicking one of the “Book Now” links below.
If booking multiple workshops, please search and select one session at a time. Our online ticketing portal will show no availability for multiple sessions searched at once, even if individual slots are free.
If you cannot book through the online ticketing portal or you need to pay via invoice*, please submit a 'Booking Request Form' linked below. We aim to respond within 5 working days. Note that submitting this form does not constitute a booking until you’ve received an official booking confirmation email containing a ticket QR code and reference number.
*Please note that we can't accept invoices from Home Education groups. These will need to be booked through our online portal or by requesting a credit card payment link via our 'Booking Request Form'.
We look forward to welcoming you and your students to our workshops.
Topics available
Find out about the design process and some manufacturing methods that go into making some of the kinds of objects you use every day.
Suitable for KS2 & 3.
Dip into the world of unconventional design, where form often conceals an object’s true function.
Suitable for KS2 & 3.
Consider why the humble chair is really the ultimate design challenge, and why the user has the last say on whether a design becomes a classic or a relic.
Suitable for KS2, 3, 4 & 5
Find out how lighting can set the mood, convey a message, make or break your day at school and help you customise the space you inhabit.
Suitable for KS3, 4 & 5.
Investigate ‘smart’, innovative, and sustainable materials, along the way, considering whether designers have an obligation to try alternative and new materials.
Suitable for KS3, 4 & 5
Please note that Learning Group bookings are managed by the museum’s Bookings and Learning Teams. Both teams should be copied into any urgent contact, such as last-minute lateness or cancellations, via the emails:
• bookings@designmuseum.org
• learning@designmuseum.org
Thank you.
Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know about upcoming exhibitions, events, and more.