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Fun Learning Activities

Child drawing on table in the Barbican Centre

We have a wide range of free arts-based activities that children and young people can get involved with from home or in the classroom.

Visual Arts

Jean Dubuffet: Brutal Beauty

Suitable for all ages

Family Activity Sheet

Get the whole family involved in the Jean Dubuffet: Brutal Beauty exhibition with our interactive exercises in our Family Activity Sheet.

Teachers' Resource

Download our Teacher Resource, suitable for Key Stages 2 - 5. Inspired by Jean Dubuffet's playful and experimental spirit, the tasks are aimed to get students of all ages exploring his life and work in a fun and creative way.

Explore the exhibition

Toyin Ojih Odutola: A Countervailing Theory Creative Prompts

Suitable for KS3, KS4, KS5

Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola used drawing as a tool for storytelling in her recent exhibition in the Curve Gallery, A Countervailing Theory.  

Watch a narrated walkthrough of the exhibition here, then have a go at creating your own artworks and writing inspired by the themes and ideas from the exhibition.  

Download (PDF)

Masculinities: Liberation Through Photography Activity

Suitable for all ages

Try out the cut-price portraits art activity led by Billy Mann. The activity explores the themes of our Masculinities: Liberation through Photography exhibition, which looked at how masculinity is experienced, performed, coded and socially constructed. 
 

Watch
Young people in the gallery

Visual Arts Teacher Resources

Suitable for all ages

Explore our current and previous art gallery exhibitions with your class or at home through our teacher resources. 

Masculinities: Liberation through Photography
Teachers’ Resource | Find out more about the Masculinities: Liberation through Photography exhibition.

Into the Night: Cabarets and Clubs in Modern Art
Teachers’ Resource | Find out more about the Into the Night: Cabarets and Clubs in Modern Art exhibition.

Lee Krasner: Living Colour
Teachers’ Resource | Find out more about the Lee Krasner: Living Colour exhibition.

Dorothea Lange / Vanessa Winship: A photography double bill
Teachers’ Resource

John Akomfrah: Purple
Teachers’ Resource | Find out more about the John Akomfrah: Purple exhibition.

Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy & the Avant-garde
Teachers’ Resource | Find out more about the Modern Couples: Art, Intimacy & the Avant-garde exhibition.

Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer Collage Activity

Suitable for All Age

Try out a collage activity led by Mitchel Ceney from youth homelessness charity Accumulate which takes inspiration from our exhibition Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer, using materials you can find around the classroom or at home. 

Start Making

Music

Beethoven in Nature – Music Resources

Suitable for KS1, KS2, SEND

We've put together some musical activities with musician Paul Griffiths for you to try out, inspired by composer Beethoven's love of nature. Find out more about Beethoven, learn some songs with Paul, and make your own music inspired by nature.  

Get Musical

Theatre & Dance

Multi-Sensory Educational Theatre Activity Book

Suitable for Early Years, KS1, KS2, SEND

A step-by-step guide created by M-SET packed with great ideas to make a multi-sensory show at home. Learn how to transform furniture, toys, utensils and clothing into sets, props, sound and lighting effects to bring your stories to life. 

Create

Science

Teacher Lab

A downloadable teaching resource with creative activities to support pupils’ understanding of the primary science curriculum

Teacher Lab Resource

Barbican Box

Coney ‘Playful Activism’ Pack

Explore the practice of ‘Playful Activism’ developed by interactive theatre company Coney, through this activity pack for schools. Drawing on Coney’s approach, and with reference to the development of fusion skills, this resource will guide students and teachers through the process of creating an artistic gift for your school community.

Read