In-Person Workshops for Ages 4-11

All our workshops are interactive and hands-on, providing lots of opportunities for discussion and participation.

Most workshops are two hours long and can run as morning or afternoon sessions. Workshop details are listed below, please contact us if you have any questions or would like to arrange a visit.

If you’d like to visit under your own steam we have a free self-guided visit pack full of activities to do in the exhibition, perfect for combining with a workshop to create a full-day plan. Self-guided visits must be booked in advance, just get in touch to find out more.

Biscuit Bonanza!

Get hands-on with archive objects and hunt for colour, shape and texture in the Archive exhibition, and find out how we use these elements in design.

An optional numeracy theme allows learners to test their maths skills, and finish by designing an M&S biscuit tin that customers won’t be able to resist.

Art & Design, Literacy, Numeracy.

What's On My Plate?

Use primary sources and hands-on activities to learn about changes in our diet over the last 100 years. Activities encourage thinking about where food comes from and how far it travels to reach us.

Learners will analyse their own favourites and use their new knowledge to design a meal for a child in the past.

History, Science.

Proof of the Pudding

Explore the challenges and chemistry of the M&S Chocolate Melt in the Middle Pudding.

Find out about this amazing feat of food technology that’s become an iconic M&S product… and yes, there will be a taste test!

Learn about ingredients and where they come from, then think like a food technologist and invent an innovative pudding product.

Science, D&T.

Fabric & Fashion

Use your senses and simple experiments to find out about the properties of fabrics.

  • How are fabrics made?
  • What impact do fabrics and fashion have on the planet?
  • How has clothing changed over time?

Discover the answers to these questions and many more during this hands-on interactive workshop.

Science, Sustainability, History

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Packet Perfect for the Planet

Hunt for design inspiration in the Archive exhibition, sketching ideas on your mood board.

Design and make your own food packaging inspired by our collection of archive designs and current M&S innovation.

Find out more about recycling and how we can all help to save the planet.

D&T, Geography.

Home Front on the High Street

What did M&S do during the war?

Get hands-on with archive artefacts from the period, finding out about the role M&S played in the war effort. Use photographs and items from our 1940s Utility clothing collection to explore life during wartime.

Local History, Historical Enquiry, Numeracy.

Shops and Shopping

Use a range of sources to learn about change and continuity in shops and shopping over the last 100 years.

Go shopping in the 1920s Penny Bazaar and explore how stores and products have changed with our archive objects, photos and film.

Find out who Michael Marks was and why he is important with our interactive story.

Business Brains

How does a business grow from a pedlar’s pack to a global high street institution?

Through our interactive story and hands-on activities learners will find out more about entrepreneurship, target markets, how businesses grow and what it means to be a responsible retailer.

Enterprise, Sustainability, Literacy.

Don’t worry if you can’t visit us in Leeds, we have lots of high-quality digital resources to help you run your own workshops at home.