Summer has arrived and it’s time to take a break from work. When you’re fascinated by technology, there are many technology-based activities for kids, both young and old. We’re so lucky to be a short journey away from great national museums, such as the Science Museum in Kensington (sciencemuseum.org.uk), and the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park (tnmoc.org).
There is also much to so closer to home. If you’re looking for activities for young family members, there are a number of technology and coding schools running camps over summer in West London. As well providing fun for those who enjoy technology, camps also enable children and teenagers to pick up useful skills that will help their education and careers.
FuFunTech runs 5-day summer camps for 7 to 15-year-olds in Northwood, Reading, Richmond and Maidenhead. Activities range from Lego Robotics (Junior and Senior) to Java Coder, Python Coder, 3D Game Design, 3D Modelling and Printing, and Minecraft courses. Details at funtechsummercamps.com
GoCode runs 3 and 5-day camps in Harrow. Explorer camps are aimed at 6 to 11-year-olds and explore programming, game design, robotics and more. Discover camps for 12-year-olds and above cover more advanced aspects of robotics, Python and web technologies. Details at gocode.academy
For adults, JuliaCom is coming to London’s University College, but what will the rest of the family think of you spending five days in summer discussing a programming language? But could the final day hackathon be too much of a temptation? Details at juliacon.org/2018/
If your head is crammed full of ideas and you don’t know how to develop them, find out how one famous artist and humorist expressed his ideas at the Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner. Renowned for his illustrations of whacky inventions, Heath Robinson was brought up in a way that encouraged imagination and thinking outside the box, useful if you want to be a technological innovator. This is the atmosphere the museum aims to create for young and old through creative thinking, problem-solving, inventing ideas, stories and gadgets or creating spectacular pieces of art. Details at heathrobinsonmuseum.org
But don’t spend all the holidays hunched over a keyboard or peering at a screen – why not head to the London Motorcycle Museum in Greenford, open Friday to Sunday, to find out about life on the open road and the development of motor bikes from its collection 170 vehicles dating from 1870 to the 21st century? Details at london-motorcycle-museum.org
And remember to keep breathing. West London has so many open spaces and parks including Brent Valley, Perivale, Pitshanger, Osterley and Gunnersbury as well as Ruislip Lido. The lungs of West London, these open spaces allow minds to wander, ideas to formulate and, as Sir Isaac Newton famously discovered under an apple tree, the inspiration to develop theories that can change the world and how we live. Enjoy your summer.
