Five days of free half-term workshops will lead in to Light Up Lancaster 2026

Five days of free half-term activities, workshops and interactive experiences are coming to Lancaster ahead of the city's popular light art festival.

Light Up Lancaster’s Explore Week will run from October 26 to 30 and is designed to spark curiosity, creativity and imagination through a mix of art and science activities.

Drop-in workshops generally take place between 10am and noon, and 2pm and 4pm at the Storey Centre in Lancaster, and there will be 40 free workshops across the week.

Young explorers can build and race miniature solar-powered Lego cars with Lancaster University’s Physics Department, create glowing clay houses inspired by Lancaster’s historic buildings, or experiment with long-exposure photography in a Painting with Light workshop.

Creative highlights include weaving illuminated willow bird lanterns with Mudfolk, designing glow-in-the-dark flags under UV light, taking part in Ludus Dance’s energetic ‘Raving With Power’ workshops, and the interactive ‘AI Investigators: Spot the Bot’ activity. 

There will also be shadow puppetry workshops taking place at the Judges’ Lodgings nearby on Thursday and Friday. 

Explore Week leads into the main Light Up Lancaster festival, which takes place from November 5 to 7 and will transform Lancaster city centre with spectacular illuminated artworks, projections, performances and installations.

Visitors can experience light art across the city’s historic streets, public spaces and heritage venues, making it one of the highlights of Lancaster’s cultural calendar.

Explore Week is delivered in partnership with Lancaster University’s Engagement Team, with support from the University’s Impact Acceleration Account programme.

For full details of Explore Week and the main festival programme, please visit HERE.