The Edinburgh through a Child’s Lens exhibition will be open to the public Monday to Thursday, 10am - 5pm, and we hope you’ll come along and take a look! We also have a full programme of events taking place throughout the week - see below for full details.

Monday | Listen : 12th October 3pm - 5pm

The Children’s Opening

What do Edinburgh’s children tell us about their city?

This opening event is our day of listening to children - an opportunity to see Edinburgh differently, through the eyes of the young people who live here.

Through drawings, maps, models, words and ideas, children from across Edinburgh show us the city as they experience it: where they feel happy, where they play, what they notice, what gets in their way and what they would change.

Children will welcome the adults, and we hope some of the young participants will share and explaining their contributions. Simpson Studio will give a short introduction to the project and the wider programme before handing the conversation over to the exhibition itself.

Before we talk about the future of Edinburgh, we are going to listen to the people who will live longest with the decisions we make.

Come along, explore the exhibition and, listen to the ideas.

Exhibition Opening | Free Tickets | Refreshments will be provided

Tuesday | Think : 13th October 1:30pm - 2.30pm

Designing for Childhood in the City

What Makes a Great City for Children?

Having listened to what Edinburgh’s children have told us about their city, Tuesday asks us to think, to consider what their experiences and ideas mean for the way we design, plan and shape Edinburgh.

Bringing children’s voices together with research, evidence and professional expertise, Tim Gill, Sue Palmer, Shirley Young, and Dr Louise Hill bring perspectives spanning childhood and development, architecture and housing, planning and public space, independence, disability and inclusion.

Together, we’ll think about what children need to grow, play, explore and participate in their city; what kinds of places support those needs; and how our streets, homes, neighbourhoods and public spaces could better enable independence, inclusion and belonging.

What do children need? What places support it? What kind of city enables it? And how do we make sure every child is included?

A chance to think differently about Edinburgh, about what we already know, what children can teach us, and what those responsible for shaping our city could be doing differently.

Panel Discussion | Free Tickets

Wednesday | Make : 14th October 10am - 4pm

Children's Build Day

What can children tell us when we give them the tools to create?

A day for children and families to make, build, play and imagine the city together.

Children don’t always communicate their experiences of place most powerfully through words. Making and play can reveal ideas, relationships and observations about the city that conventional consultation can miss.

So, for our Make day, we’re putting the city in their hands. Children are invited to get creative, build their ideas and imagine the places they would love to grow up in - exploring what their streets, neighbourhoods, play spaces and wider city could become.

Parents and carers are invited to bring their children along and get involved. There’s no need to prepare anything or stay for the whole day, simply drop in, start making and add your ideas to a growing picture of a city shaped by its youngest citizens.

What would you make if the city was in your hands?

Activity Day | Drop in Anytime

Thursday | Grow : 15th October 3pm - 5pm

The Teen Gap and Drinks Reception

What happens to children’s relationship with the city as they grow up?

As children grow into adolescence, the spaces designed specifically for them begin to disappear. Playgrounds are left behind and public space becomes increasingly important, a place to meet friends, gain independence and develop a sense of belonging.

But who are these spaces really designed for? Who feels welcome in them, and who gets pushed to the edges?

Together with Make Space for Girls, we explore what young people need from their city as they grow, with a particular focus on the experiences of teenage girls and the inequalities that can shape their access to public space. Drawing on their research into how parks and public spaces are designed and used by teenagers, particularly teenage girls. The talk will look at the evidence behind the gender gap in public space, alongside best-practice examples from the UK and internationally, to explore what better provision can look like and what designers, planners and local authorities can do differently. This develops the themes already identified for the day around gender, inclusion and who feels welcome in public space.

How can we grow to better cater for teenagers? How can our thinking, our approach to design and our city evolve as young people gain independence? And how can our parks, streets and public spaces give teenagers the freedom, space and sense of belonging they need?

The talk will be followed by a drinks reception, a chance to explore the exhibition, continue the conversation and bring Edinburgh Through a Child’s Lens to a close. After a week of listening, thinking, making and growing, we’ll come together to reflect on what Edinburgh’s children and young people have told us, and what we might take forward for the city they are growing up in.

Talk | Free Tickets

AND THEN WE ACT

What If Edinburgh...?

The exhibition may finish, but the project doesn't. We asked Edinburgh's children to show us their city. Now we need to turn what they’ve told us into action. Everything children create during the project will be documented and reviewed alongside the conversations, research and expertise gathered throughout the week, and this will inform a subsequent piece of work:

WHAT IF EDINBURGH...? Children’s ideas for the city: Now / Next / 2040

NOW
What could we change today?

NEXT
What should Edinburgh begin doing differently?

2040
What kind of city do we want today's children to inherit?

The ambition is to turn listening into learning, learning into ideas, and ideas into action, ensuring children's voices become part of the conversation about Edinburgh's future.