Culture Mile has produced some fabulous Free Play Packs for families in lockdown
Culture Mile, the City of London’s cultural district stretching from Farringdon to Moorgate
has created a series of Play Packs for young people and their families at home in
lockdown.
The packs will be distributed to foodbanks and community centres across the City of
London and neighbouring boroughs to provide materials to families who may not have
online access or play resources.
The first pack, aimed at primary aged children, will go out this week, followed by a pack
each month over the summer, and will also be available for anyone to download from
The colourful activity bundles, designed by Dan Cottrell Studio, will include a range of
activities from Culture Mile’s core partners – Barbican, Guildhall School of Music & Drama,
London Symphony Orchestra, and Museum of London – as well as partners from the City
Family Arts Network, Culture Mile Learning, and partners from its wider artist network.
There is also a range of beautifully designed Playful Prompts with suggestions for easy fun
ideas that families can do together, either, without involving any special equipment or that
you can do with everyday household objects. The packs contain a range of creative
materials that families can use with activities in the pack or to make masterpieces of their
own, including chalk, stickers, crayons, and glue sticks.
Pack one contains contributions from Andy Field and Beckie Darlington, Anorak Magazine,
Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning, Billingsgate Roman House & Baths, City of London
Open Spaces, City of London Police Museum, Islington Play Association, London Mithraeum
Bloomberg SPACE, Museum of the Order of St John, Museum of London, National Literacy
Trust, Originary Arts, St Paul’s Cathedral, The Monument, Tower Bridge, UP Projects, and ZCD
Architects.
There is also a wealth of creative resources aimed at young people from across the Culture
Mile core partners.
The Museum of London is creating a range of online and offline entertainment and learning
with the Museum of Fundon, specially designed for families, as part of a wider series of
activities launched during lockdown
https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/families/fun-home
Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning:
is providing several free digital initiatives while the
Barbican and Guildhall School buildings are temporarily closed, making sure that students,
young people and families can continue to engage with the programme online.
Some of the online activities and content already available include a Family Film Club
workshop, inspired by The Wizard of Oz; an online printing workshop run by Billy Mann, a
member of brain injury charity Headway East London, based on Barbican Art Gallery
exhibition Masculinities: Liberation through Photography; as well as a new music album on
Mixcloud, featuring original music created and recorded by young people aged 14-16
years about their experiences growing up in east London, as part of Barbican Box, its
flagship schools programme.
Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning will continue to work closely with artists, young
people, and community organisations to create more digital content over the coming
weeks.
See barbican.org.uk/read-watch-listen.
The City of London Corporation:
Barbican and Community Libraries have built a library without walls, with online activities,
resources and meet-ups available for all ages. Barbican Children’s Library have held Virtual
Rhymetimes, reaching thousands of people all over the world through its Facebook and
Youtube Channels, as well as weekly STEAM activities, book clubs and creative writing
competitions
London Metropolitan Archives’ website also provides free access to over 250,000 historical
prints, maps and photographs of London, ranging from 1450 to the 1980s , as well as a
number of free educational resources on the TES website.
London Symphony Orchestra
LSO has a range of resources for schools, families and young people on LSO Discovery. The
award-winning* LSO Play is a free interactive and immersive web app, allowing people to
experience the LSO on stage at the Barbican – anytime, anywhere, viewing the orchestra
from four camera angles simultaneously, as well as masterclasses with LSO players, listening
guides and teacher resource packs also available to download from tes.com.
When lockdown was announced, LSO also shifted its popular children’s group online, with
its Shake, Rattle & Roll music workshop for babies and under 5s booked up for the summer
instantly
Culture Mile is the City of London’s cultural district, stretching from Farringdon to Moorgate,
led by the City of London Corporation, with the Barbican, Guildhall School of Music &
Drama, London Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of London. Together, the five
partners are creating a vibrant, creative area in the north-west corner of the Square Mile.