Build an Energy Wall

Date: 17th May 2025

Location: Poplar Union

Help us build an Energy Wall – A collaborative chain-reaction project to explore kinetic art.

A STEAM workshop (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART and Maths) for neurodiverse families, aimed at KS2 and KS3 mainstream children.

As a family you’ll get to design a simple cardboard device using your imagination and the materials and tools we provide. Later, we’ll link all the family sections together to produce a large structure that everyone can feel part of.

This will be a relaxed session to get hands-on with the concepts of energy transfer, cardboard engineering and kinetic art.

How it works

Participants will work in family groups. Each group will be assigned a table, materials and tools. They will build simple devices that can later be linked together creating one bigger collaborative project.

A pre-built cardboard structure serves both as inspiration and a central hub for interconnecting everyone’s sections. Energy Wall will be a fun and relaxed hands-on session to explore STEAM concepts. All activities are optional, and participants will be able to engage outside their family group as much or as little as they want.

This is a family activity, where adults are required to participate alongside their children. At least one adult per three children. Recommended for children aged 8-14.

Duration of class/ event

2 hours

We will build a wall with recycled cardboard boxes that we’ll place at Poplar Union’s Exhibition Wall.

We will also provide the children with activity cards that will act as creative prompts.

We will help them with the difficulties they may encounter, or to connect together the different creations from the children.

• 15 minutes introduction to materials and the activity.
• 1 hour to build and place on the wall.
• 15 minutes to showcase.
• 15 minutes to tidy up.

About the Host

We’re Liber + Suhela. Two mums from East London with a plan to organise fun activities for neurodiverse children that help them engage with the mainstream curriculum. With our combined background of digital production and community art, we aim to provide opportunities for neurodiverse families to join in STEAM collaborative projects and create comfortable social spaces. We call that plan Toy Workshop, come and help us shape it.