Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival
  • Home
  • 2020 Programme
  • Audio Trails
  • Kids & Young People
  • Survey
  • Sponsors
  • About
Events and Activities for Children & Young People
​
We have a few ideas on how you and the wee ones can bring the bricks and mortar of Glasgow’s buildings to life during the festival. These activities link in with some of the other aspects of the programme so that everyone can enjoy Glasgow’s Untold Stories.

We would love to see your pictures and hear your 2020 Doors Open Days stories during festival week, so please do get in touch via doorsopendays@gbpt.org or use the social media tag #GDODFTales . Keep an eye on our social media to see your work featured!
On this page:
-Material Rubbings
- Behind the Doors, Writing Competition
- Untold Stories Scavenger Hunt
- Plan Your Own City!
- Living Room Drawing Session
- Create your own Coat of Arms
- Hidden Stories Map
- Architecture Heritage Society of Scotland Workshop
Picture
Material Rubbing
Buildings are made from all sorts of materials; wood, concrete, brick, glass and metal are some examples. They all feel different to touch, glass is smooth while concrete or brick can be rough. If you are out on one of the guided walks why not bring along some paper, crayons or pencils to collect samples of the different textures of Glasgows buildings. How many can you find? Let us know!
Materials Needed: paper, crayons or soft pencils
How to make a rubbing:
-Put the paper on the wall or surface, get your crayon and gently rub across paper- if the surface is bumpy be careful not to rib the paper
- The paper will then take a print of the wall or surface below! See how different surfaces make different rubbings
- Suggested Sites for Rubbing: Glasgow Necropolis/ Southern Necropolis, Mackintosh Queens Cross, The Pipe Factory, Kelvin Hall, Arlington Baths. Let us know your favourite places.
- Walks to Rub on: Maryhill's Canal Walk, Scottish Football History Walk, Contemporary Art Trail.
Behind the Door
Every building has a story, its hosted many different people and activities during its lifetime. In this activity we invite you to imagine and come up with your own stories for one of the following places:
- Southern Necropolis: Each gravestone and monument is dedicated to a person. On your trip to the SN, find the White Lady. Mystery and legend surrounds her story, some say that the White Lady turns her head as you pass by! In your short story about the White Lady, tell us why you think she has this name and tell us about what she gets up to in the grave yard when there are no visitors.
- Glasgow Architect, Alexander ‘Greek’ is also buried in the Southern Necropolis. He built buildings all over Glasgow in a distinctly Greek style, one of which is Moray Place which is included in the programme. In your story about the terrace, imagine a day in the life of a victorian child. Describe the differences between your life and the Victorians, what’s the same and what’s different?
Send us your building stories via email to doorsopendays@gbpt.org during Festival Week. We would also love to hear you read your story, you can send us a video to our email or social media. Our favourite story will win a behind the scenes tour of the Glasgow Film Theatre!
Untold Stories Scavenger Hunt
​Join us for our week long scavenger hunt! We will be travelling virtually through the city with the Britannia Panopticon. Each day a new clue will be revealed, leading you to a new place for discovery. The hunt clues will appear on the Untold Stories Scavenger Hunt page each morning of the festival.

A guided tour for the family, of the Bridgeton Bus Garage, is up for grabs for one lucky winner!
Picture
Plan your own city!
Cities grow and change on a daily basis, why not plan how you think Glasgow could look in the next 50 years? Draw a map or street section of the city centre with your future views. What buildings have you changed? Have you added any new ones or removed any old ones? Here are some resources from the Royal Town Planning Institute to get you started:
- Become a Planner
- What is Planning?
Living Room Drawing Session
Join our interactive drawing webinar with architect turned illustrator Will Knight. Through this class Will explores how we can look more closely at familiar spaces, focusing on little details and capturing the character of the room. We will learn how to draw a scale version of the space, making it a capsule of the present moment.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BOOK
Picture
Create your own Coat of Arms
Join in on the coat of arms talk and walk by by making your own! Glasgow’s well known bird, tree and bell is just one example of a recognisable coat of arms. What will you use to create your own? While you go on the walk or listen to the talk make a list of the arms you like and use that as inspiration. We’d love to see what you create so share your coats of arms with us on social media using the hashtag #GDODFtales
Check out the Coat of Arms online exhibition for inspiration.
Picture
The Hidden Stories Map
This self guided walk has been designed specially for young people and tells of Glasgow's involvement in the slave trade.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Picture
Architecture Heritage Society of Scotland Workshop
​
Learn about Glasgow's built heritage with Shabnam Komai-koma of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland in this workshop for young people.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO BOOK
Picture

View our Privacy Notice
Glasgow Building Preservation Trust
Wellpark Enterprise Centre
120 Sydney Street, Glasgow
G31 1JF
​Registered Company Number: SC079721
Scottish Charity Number: SC015443
© COPYRIGHT 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • 2020 Programme
  • Audio Trails
  • Kids & Young People
  • Survey
  • Sponsors
  • About