Build / Play / Shape brings Croydon’s urban landscape to life through hands-on activities, space-age imagination and play for all ages.
Construct a giant cardboard Croydon skyline, transform iconic local buildings into futuristic spacecraft, and dive into Right to Play – a giant adventure playground featuring den building and a mud kitchen.
End the day with an exhibition of local photography inside The Caravan Gallery and visit The Curiosity Rover to take you on a creative quest.
Drop in
As part of Open House 2026 in Croydon, visit an exhibition of our summer programme with Creative Quests: Curiosity Rover, and try some creative missions of your own! Part art studio, part community hub and part roaming spacecraft, collect quests to explore Croydon through noticing, movement, nature and imagination.
Be inspired by Croydon's space age buildings and aviation history - from Apollo and Lunar House, to Croydon Airport. Build your own models of familiar buildings redesigned as spacecrafts and transform the town centre into a space station.
As part of the weekend event Build / Play / Shape Croydon, MATT+FIONA will lead a collaborative cardboard-build activity inspired by landmarks from Croydon's skyline. Visitors of all ages can help create a large scale installation using pre-made silhouette templates and recycled materials, contributing to "Croydon of the Future, Drawing on the Past".
Right To Play is a celebration and a call to action to fight for our Right To Play. With bamboo den and structure building, Puppetry interaction, a "Long Table Mud Kitchen" play and a Run, Jump, Swing sculpture.
Build a towering house of cards inspired by architects Charles and Ray Eames 1950s classic building toy- with cards specially produced from Pollock's vintage Toy Theatre scenery. Create a 3D paper garden to take home Or join architect Ambrose Gillick to build giant lightweight constructions. Suitable for all .
The Caravan Gallery is a unique documentary photography project and exhibition focused on Croydon's built environment. The Caravan Gallery photograph the sur/reality of everyday life and work with communities to explore people's connection to place, exhibiting their photographs of the area in a small caravan.