Our workshops show kindergarten through to year 6 students how to give waste materials a new life through creative reuse.
Our workshops are tape-and-glue free, using low-waste construction techniques like lacing and threading.
We can come to you or you can visit us at our education room at Marrickville. Customised workshops are also available to suit your particular theme or unit.
Reverse Garbage workshops take students through a design process, aligned with NSW Syllabus outcomes, to facilitate creative thinking and collaboration.
We have workshops designed for the following stages:
● Stage 2
● Stage 3
Pricing: An individual quote will be provided depending on the minimum expected numbers and length of your visit provided in your booking inquiry form. Packages start at $400 for one primary school workshop session, excluding travel costs. Travel fees are calculated based on distance from our location. Travel costs start at $30.
Early Stage 1
Pushmi-Pullyu
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: designed for Early Stage 1 students (but can be adapted to other year levels if required)
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
Build a toy that moves – and learn how to get things running without batteries! Kids experiment with push/pull forces and use materials they would find in their own home to make their own battery-free push-toy. Children use low-waste construction techniques as they develop an understanding of how things move. NSW Syllabus links: STe- 6NE, STe-9ME, STe-5WT, STe-4WS, VAES1.1, VAES
Giant Loose Parts Play
Duration: 60 minutes
Where? Your place – this workshop is ideal for a playground or large indoor space like a school hall
Age: all primary stages
Capacity: Up to 30 participants per session
This workshop is a fantastic way to give the children a chance to explore ‘loose parts play’.
Our giant kit of loose parts are reuse materials that can be moved around, put together, taken apart and rebuilt. Loose Parts Play sessions promote social, active play, stimulates the imagination and inspires innovation, creativity and collaboration. We can provide your students with an open-ended Loose Parts Play session or present them with a group construction challenge such as building a bridge, transporting an endangered animal or any other scenario that supports your learning goals.
It works with every age group and keeps them engaged for hours.
Stage 1
Kooky Characters
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: Designed for Stage 1 students (can be adapted to other levels)
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
Bring characters to life with materials that were destined for landfill. Students will work with a variety of re-used materials to make toys, puppets and dolls. Students will develop problem-solving skills and design and construction skills using re-used materials. Students will a variety of re-used materials to make toys, puppets and dolls.
NSW Syllabus links: STe- 6NE, STe-9ME, STe-5WT, STe-4WS, VAES1.1, VAES1.2
Big box city
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: Designed for Stage 1 students (but can be adapted to other levels)
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
Construct your own buildings, cars, parks, roads and people and bring them together in a big box city! Students will work collaboratively to create a city using packaging materials typical of any household recycling bin.
This activity does not use glue and teaches joining using more sustainable methods.
For this activity we encourage the children to collect and bring small packaging boxes from home (eg, cereal boxes, small gift boxes from light cardboard). This encourages conversations at home about packaging and it’s impact.
This activity is also great as an ongoing whole school activity if your school has the space.
NSW Syllabus links: ST1-14BE, ST1-12MW, ST1-13MW, ST1-5WT, ST1-4LW-S
Loose Parts Play
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Your place – this workshop is ideal for a playground or large indoor space like a school hall
Age: all primary stages
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
This workshop is a fantastic way to give the children a chance to explore ‘loose parts play’.
Our kit of loose parts are reuse materials that can be moved around, put together, taken apart and rebuilt. Loose Parts Play sessions promotes social, active play, stimulates the imagination and inspires innovation, creativity and collaboration.
We can provide your students with an open-ended Loose Parts Play session or present them with a group construction challenge such as building a bridge, transporting an endangered animal or any other scenario that supports your learning goals.
It works with every age group and keeps them engaged for hours.
Stage 2
We challenge Stage 2 students to think like designers by investigating the properties of materials, appreciating their value and putting them to good use.
Through our syllabus-aligned workshops, children in Year 3 and Year 4 will learn how to give waste products a new life through reuse and see how their material choices, design-thinking and construction techniques can strengthen and enrich their creative ideas.
Loose Parts Play
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Your place – this workshop is ideal for a playground or large indoor space like a school hall
Age: all primary stages
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
This workshop is a fantastic way to give the children a chance to explore ‘loose parts play’.
Our kit of loose parts are reuse materials that can be moved around, put together, taken apart and rebuilt. Loose Parts Play sessions promotes social, active play, stimulates the imagination and inspires innovation, creativity and collaboration.
We can provide your students with an open-ended Loose Parts Play session or present them with a group construction challenge such as building a bridge, transporting an endangered animal or any other scenario that supports your learning goals.
It works with every age group and keeps them engaged for hours.
Sustainable House S2
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: designed for Stage 2 students (but can be adapted to other year levels if required)
Capacity: Up to 30 participants per session
Explore elements of sustainability as children work collaboratively to design and construct a sustainable house using packaging and other reuse materials. Students will brainstorm different aspects of houses that can help to improve their sustainability. Using simple low-waste construction techniques, they will develop an understanding of visual representation and construct a model of the ultimate sustainable ‘house and land package’.
NSW Syllabus links: ST2-14BE, ST2-13MW, GE2-3 ST2-2VA, ST2-5WT
DIY Packaging
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: designed for Stage 2 students (but can be adapted to other year levels if required)
Capacity: Up to 30 participants per session
Investigate the properties of a variety of materials and consider how they can be used to protect products during transport. Students will work collaboratively with re-use materials to design and make packaging for a range of weird and wonderful items from jelly to kittens. Students will use a design process and simple low-waste construction techniques to create their packaging, then present it to the group explaining the different elements they have taken into consideration.
Stage 3
These syllabus-aligned workshops are focused on reduction, low-waste construction and a consideration of environmentally sensitive design. Children in Year 5 and Year 6 will be challenged not only to innovate, design and construct, but also to consider the environmental and social impact of materials, products and processes.
Sustainable House S3
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: Your place or ours
Age: designed for Stage 3 students (but can be adapted to other year levels if required)
Capacity: Up to 30 participants per session
Explore elements of sustainability as children work collaboratively to design and construct a sustainable house using packaging and other reuse materials. Students will brainstorm different aspects of houses that can help to improve their sustainability. Using simple low-waste construction techniques, they will develop an understanding of visual representation and construct a model of the ultimate sustainable ‘house and land package’.
Space Stations and Satellites
Duration: 90 minutes
Venue: your place or ours
Age: designed for Stage 3 students (but can be adapted to other year levels if required)
Capacity: Up to 30 participants per session
Spend some time making your way around the solar system! Working in teams, students use industrial off-casts and e-waste materials to construct a space station, satellites, a lunar model and rockets. Students are challenged to consider the requirements for life in space as well as the opportunities offered by zero gravity as they design and construct their space module without the use of tape or glue.
NSW Syllabus links: ST3- 8ES, ST3-14BE, ST3-5WT, ST3-2VA, VA3.2
Loose Parts Play
Duration: 60 minutes
Venue: Your place – this workshop is ideal for a playground or large indoor space like a school hall
Age: all primary stages
Capacity: maximum 30 students (or 1x class)
This workshop is a fantastic way to give the children a chance to explore ‘loose parts play’.
Our kit of loose parts are reuse materials that can be moved around, put together, taken apart and rebuilt. Loose Parts Play sessions promotes social, active play, stimulates the imagination and inspires innovation, creativity and collaboration.
We can provide your students with an open-ended Loose Parts Play session or present them with a group construction challenge such as building a bridge, transporting an endangered animal or any other scenario that supports your learning goals.
It works with every age group and keeps them engaged for hours.
Testimonials
Thanks again for the most interesting and thought provoking workshop for the students of PetershamTAFE. I will never look at a staple in the same way again.
Petersham, TAFE NSW
Thank you for a fantastic visit to Reverse Garbage last week. It was a great introduction to our sustainability project and the students really enjoyed it.
Granville Boys High School
Thank you for leading such an enjoyable workshop with my Year 9 Design & Technology class. There was a great balance of discussion, historical information and time to explore and make.
St Clare’s College, Waverley
Buy Educator Resources Online!
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