Summer Camp feels like only yesterday, and Autumn Camp is around the corner. From Monday 26th to Friday 30th October, we'll be back at @pistachioshillyfields, this time with a serious tarp set up and other seasonal supplies around the Log Circle, pictured just beyond that delicious hot chocolate. Following on from the Summer theme of Measurement, this half term's theme is The Making of Symbols of Languages, with an exciting menu of activities that can be better seen in the second pic. Reservations can be made on the website, with plenty more info too: www.curiosityworkshops.com Or come find the Curiosity Workshops Pop-Up by Pistachios this Sunday 18th and also Sunday 25th, where we'll be running alongside the Park Run until lunchtime. Ciao for now!

Mini-Week Five: The Cartographic Finale With only 2 days in the week, our plan to finish a magnetic map of Hilly Fields still had a long way to go, and we still had essentials to cover: sundials, blackberry tarts, tapenade, and the odd side-mission (see mushrooms pic). Plans for the map were so in the air that an oversized yellow magnet board found in the street over the weekend became the base for a new, larger design. Luckily, we weren't short of map makers - 13 on day 1, 19 on day 2 - buzzing around making final measurements to position the landmarks; hand-drilling holes in the thin birch plywood sheets that overlaid the magnet board; painting the symbols for the landmarks; gluing in the magnets; and weaving the thread to show the triangulations between landmarks. As the tarts hit the oven with an hour to go, Claudia and co were still putting the finishing touches on the landmarks, while Henry weaved away. And, as the tarts emerged, so did a finished big yellow magnet board map: aligned to North, with charming landmarks connected by triangulated thread, and a pleasing scale of 1:333 (so 3cm = 10m). The map was offered to Pistachios as a token of appreciation for all their support over the weeks... and politely declined. Not enough space on the walls for the oversized map - a risk we were willing to take - but Fred did have enough space for some tart, and enough appreciation to invite us back. While I'm sure the map will find a fitting space in time, Fred probably wasn't expecting us to be back quite quite so soon... but from October 26th, one week only, we'll be back for an Autumn Camp, with thanks to Ruth at Pistachios for the thumbs up. Registrations will be available on Thursday 8th, you can hear about it here, on the website and via the mailing list at www.curiosityworkshops.com. With gratitde for all the participation and support... maybe see you next time!

Week 4: We're gonna need a bigger map With rain forecast later that week, we set about finding a good location for designing shelters, and mapping the areas out as a little practice for the bigger map of the area in progress. Into the woods we went, and after a couple of test designs in a couple of locations over a couple of days, we were ready to set up a final design at camp in front of Pistachios, just in time to keep things cosy for more compass making through the wind and rain. We also trundled along merrily with the design and measurements for the larger magnet-board map, with the Curiosity Workshop trundle wheel (measuring one meter for each rotation) and the theodolite (measuring angles between two points of reference). Afterall, all you need is one length, two angles and some slightly mysterious maths-y magic to know all the lengths and angles in a triangle, and if you just keep going with more triangles and more reference points (like the triangulation pillar right there in Hilly Fields), before you know it you've got an ordinance survey map. Or indeed, an accurate enough estimation of the size of the world upon which a freshly invented meter and metric system could be based, back in 1791 (whereby the distance from the Poles to Equator = 10,000km... give or take). There was still time for making sundials, compasses, mini-trundle wheels, side missions, and plenty of kitchen action. Or so we hoped, with a short final week ahead to finish the map...

Week 3 memories... with more sundials, compasses, DIY lunches, and parents trying to get in on the Blackberry Eclipse Tart (David's face has been blurred for anonymity). This week there was a little extra around navigation and map-making (with the help of a new high-tech Curiosity Workshops Theodolite, measuring angles between points of reference), and the seeding of an idea to make our own map. This would lay the grounds for a cartographic finale in the last days of an extended Summer Camp. To be continued...

Some Week 2 Highlights, ahead of our freshly announced fourth and final week of the Pop-Up Summer Club, starting Monday 24th August in #hillyfields. With growing numbers and familiar faces from Week 1, we tried to keep things fresh and interesting for everyone, even if some of the core activities from Week 1 remained the same (including making sundials, compasses, cakes, and tons of tapenade). The week culminated in a well-navigated excursion to Blythe Hill feat. a Sonic Navigation art workshop led by Claudia, while a personal highlight was a slick and intense theatrical performance by some participants, set in a dystopian self-centred universe. Didn't see that one coming... Let's hope there are more surprises, passion projects and budding friendships to come. Without the support of @pistachioshillyfields it'd be hard to imagine anything like this (or indeed the Blackberry Eclipse Tarts), while without the support of the parents it'd have been Claudia and I twiddling our thumbs. More info and Week 4 spaces available on the website, www.curiosityworkshops.com

A dreamy week one of the Pop-Up Summer Camp featured: - fine-tuning and bringing to life the designs for our mini stone circle sundial - smoothly navigating DIY lunches every day (with the help of a lot of tapenade) - blackberry picking, baking the Blackberry Eclipse Tart, and Anna's delicious cookies - a load of activities around measurement and navigation: from making compasses to exploring the cosmos It went so well, we've added an extra week, meaning it'll run right through the weeks of the 17th Aug and 24th Aug. More info at www.curiosityworkshops.com It wouldn't have been possible without @Pistachiosinthepark - everyone there made it so easy and pleasant, smoothing over the slightly manic preparations behind the scenes. Couldn't have hoped for more from the participants, while the support from the parents was a surprise that made all the difference. Til next time - enjoy the eclipse!

Fresh out the oven - our Pop-Up Summer Club, running 3 weeks in and around @pistachioshillyfields and the glorious @brockley_society Stone Circle Sundial. Come along for Crafts, Cooking and Curiosities and make your own sundial, compass, tasty supplies and learning adventures. We'll be welcoming participants and optional companions from 10am - 3pm, Mon-Fri, for the weeks commencing - 20th July - 27th July - 17th August £36 per day with sundial kit and lunch included, discounts and concessions available. Recommended for ages 6 all the way up. More info and registration on the biolink. Cheers! #hillyfields #brockley #cooking #crafts #curiosities #summercamps #kidsclubs #lastminute.com

This was one of many fine moments at the end of the solstice weekend, relaxing with some recent and decents around the Stone Circle, as the passersby tinker with the Curiosity Workshops table. It's amazing what that Stone Circle does for the atmosphere there - a special spot if you ask me. And I'll be back there, along with the new model replicas of the Stone Circle Sundial, for Crafts, Cooking and Curiosities - the upcoming Pop-Up Summer Club. Stay tuned or visit www.curiosityworkshops.com, and thanks to all who made it a special solstice

A sunny day in May for a sundial session at the wonderful @streathamcommoncommunitygarden, with a particularly tasty lunch. In some ways, this was the most serious 'Making Time and Other Measurements' workshop so far, and yet with thanks to everyone at the Gardens, it was a relaxed and good-spirited affair. The spirit might have been tested a little when I pulled out the olives that hadn't been pitted for the tapenade we were making, but someone's suggestion of pitting them ourselves was taken on, and in no time we had our humous, tapenade, salad and pittas good to go. With all the fragrant vegetables and herbs generously thrown in by the Garden volunteers, there's a chance the lunch was more memorable than the sundials, but a fine day nonetheless.