Transformative Encounters: Workshops for Local Schools (KS2 / KS3)

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A group of visitors walk around and between three large pieces of bronze that form Moore's huge sculpture 'Large Figure in a Shelter'.

A tour guide showing secondary school students around an artist's studio filled with sculpture.

Sheets of paper full of colourful notes on soundscapes, with two sets of headphones close by.

Two young girls standing inside a large, abstract bronze sculpture made from three parts. They are holding a microphone towards a protuberance from the sculpture's surface.

A large, abstract bronze sculpture, made from two parts. In between the pieces, a boy in a red jumper can be seen. He is lying on a grassy field, sketching the sculpture.

Mobile phones and tablets arranged in a grid on a gallery floor, surrounded by people.

A table filled with natural materials - stones, sticks, pinecones, feathers - with children working at tables in the background.

A wall filled with pencil drawings on A4 paper.

A group of secondary school students gather around and touch a large, abstract bronze sculpture made by British artist Henry Moore.

About this event

These free, educational day trips combine a morning guided visit outdoors with an afternoon workshop in our new learning studio.

Morning Guided Visit Outdoors

You and your students will be accompanied by one of our Volunteer Guides for an outside tour of the sculpture gardens, which present an awe-inspiring portfolio of Henry Moore’s sculptural works and creative processes.

Your booking will include additional time for independent study. Feel free to sketch, write or take photos in the sculpture gardens, and visit the studios with your teachers.

Afternoon Transformative Encounters Workshop

In this ninety minute session, students will learn about ways of seeing art in the everyday, how Henry Moore transformed natural objects into sculptures, the role the transformation of the seasons plays in daily drawings to textures, line, shape, form, shadow and space.

We’ll explore ideas and experiment with ways of recording our own encounters from sound recording to surface recording. A variety of materials, processes and techniques will be used to create our own imaginative responses in relation to the great artist Henry Moore and his personal history and creative practice here on site.

Schedule of activities

Time	Activity
10:20	Arrival and welcome
10:35	Start of your tour
11:35	Free time for sketching, taking photos and visiting Henry Moore’s studios
12:05	Lunch
12:35	Meet at the Sheep Field Barn to begin your workshop
14:05	Workshop end time
14:15	Depart from Henry Moore Studios & Gardens

Booking information & FAQs

Workshop dates

Capacity is limited, and sessions will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Available dates:

Friday 26 September
Friday 10 October

Who are the workshops for?

These workshops are free for local schools.

Sessions include activity suitable for Key Stage 2 & Key Stage 3 curriculums.

To help develop our relationships with local schools, priority will be given to those in the district of East Hertfordshire, and neighbouring areas with Sculpture Town/New Town narratives including Harlow, Stevenage, Welwyn and Hatfield.

Group sizes

We can accommodate a maximum of 30 students per session.

Primary schools: we require at least two supervising adults per 15 students.

Secondary schools: you will need to bring at least one supervising adult per 15 students, plus an additional adult.

Coaches

Due to the narrow lanes leading to our site, we have a coach length limit of 11 metres.

Book a workshop for your group

Essential documents for your visit

If you are planning a visit, or have already booked one, please make sure you have downloaded and read the documents below before you arrive.

Important information and terms & conditions (PDF, 0.1mb)

Risk assessment guidelines (PDF, 0.2mb)

Information for coaches & driving routes (PDF, 0.2mb)

Book your visit

Encounters

A black and white photo showing two older men smile and applaud each other with delight. They are standing in front of a huge abstract sculpture and a crowd of people in 1970s Dallas.

Encounters

16 April – 2 November 2025

This season at Henry Moore Studios & Gardens, we’re celebrating the inspiring and transformative encounters between Henry Moore and the people, objects and ideas in his orbit.

We’ll be holding a series of talks, open archives and film screenings, as well as a daily programme of free creative activities for families.

Find out more about this season’s events