Design Museum Academy Children's Workshop
Design Camp for ages 7 to 10: Sustainable Prop Making
In this hands-on workshop, children will learn the basics of prop making with sustainable materials. Inspired by Wes Anderson’s use of stylised objects as key storytelling devices, participants will draw, collage and imagine their own fantasy props for performance.
What to expect
In this engaging session, children will explore iconic props they remember from film, theatre and TV, and discover how they shape storytelling and move audiences emotionally. Madeleine will talk about her work as a prop maker for performance and set design, and participants will research and sketch props through drawing and collage.
During a visit to the exhibition Wes Anderson: The Archive, they will discover the range of objects made by prop departments, and what makes Wes Anderson’s films so unique in their style and spirit.
The children will then design their own fantasy prop using technical drawing and scale, and learn how to translate these into three dimensions at any scale. They will then build it with sustainable materials like household recycling.
Finally, all the props come together in a finale, photographed under theatrical lighting and sound to see how they transform, with the chance for participants to show the work to their adults.
Learning outcomes:
How to tell a story using props
Insight into the career of a prop maker
Basics of scale and technical drawing
Making props out of sustainable and waste materials
Please note:
Participants can bring any interesting cardboard or other recycling that is easy to cut, if they want to use it for their props.
This workshop is suitable for children aged 7–10. All participants must be dropped off and picked up by an adult. You can find additional information in the sections below.
Capacity is limited, we recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
All equipment and materials will be provided, but participants will need to bring a packed lunch.
Photos by Matthew Kaltenborn
Facilitator
Madeleine Famurewa
Madeleine is an artist who has also worked for 20 years in the waste intensive world of theatre and window display as a prop maker and designer. She is constantly questioning the use of raw materials in her practice and plays with transforming old things. Playing with traditional skills and exploring the narratives that objects hold and the magic in the everyday. She has worked and exhibited in Harvey Nichols, West End theatre and Royal Academy. Visit Madeleine's website here.
Book online
Booking information for August
Child: £78
Child (Early bird): £71
Members*: £63
*'Membership Plus' and 'Family' members: The member’s discount applies to up to 3 Child or Young person’s tickets
*'Access', 'Student', 'Individual', and 'Members & Guest' members: The member’s discount applies to 1 Child or Young person’s ticket only
Early bird price available until 3 weeks before the event
Requests for Carer tickets for Design Camps: Please email DMAcademy@designmuseum.org in advance if your child needs additional support
Check the Design Museum Academy refunds and cancellations policy.
Booking information for Members:
Please note that we have a new booking system. All Members must now log in to the ticketing platform to book tickets for upcoming events. How to book:
Click 'Book now’, and this will take you to our new booking platform
You will be prompted to log in or create an account to complete your booking. Please use the email address registered with your Membership to access Members' discounts and exclusive Members' events
Choose an event from the drop-down list
Select the desired tickets, dates and sessions and add them to the cart
Follow the instructions for checkout and payment
You will automatically receive an order confirmation email with the details of your booking, along with a PDF with your ticket
Members don’t need to book tickets for exhibitions and can continue to present their Digital Membership Cards to access exhibitions
If you have any issues, please contact the team at membership@designmuseum.org
For non-members ticketing enquiries, please contact bookings@designmuseum.org
Additional information
All participants must be dropped off and picked up by a parent, carer or responsible adult. A member of our team will greet you on arrival and sign participants in.
We ask all bookers to provide an emergency contact name and number. Please ensure this person is available for the duration of the session.
Workshop content is tailored to a specific age group. Participants outside the advertised age range may find the session less accessible or engaging.
If there’s anything we can do to support your child’s participation, whether around mobility, communication, sensory processing, emotional regulation or anything else, you’re welcome to let us know at checkout. Sharing access needs is completely optional and helps us prepare the session in the most inclusive way.
This session has space for up to 20 participants. It will be led by one or two facilitators, with a typical adult-to-child ratio of 1:10.
If your child receives additional support in their education setting, you are welcome to bring a supporting adult with them at no additional cost. Please note that we are not able to provide one-to-one support ourselves.
If you have any questions or want to discuss specific access requirements, please get in touch with the team at DMAcademy@designmuseum.org
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What's On
Background image by Matthew Kaltenborn.