Institute of Imagination

Everyone has an imagination. From the first mark on a cave wall to the first footsteps on the Moon, our greatest developments have begun with leaps of someone’s imagination.

Imagination is the cornerstone of creativity, problem solving and innovation. It’s an essential skill for life. In an era of rapid global change, being able to imagine a world that doesn’t yet exist has never been more vital.

The Institute of Imagination is a charity that has been established in London, England to help understand the power of imagination and realise its potential. They are creating a new world-class cultural destination in the capital that will put children at its heart. A much-needed space where children and their families can let their imaginations run free and explore, experiment, make, play and create together.

The Institute of Imagination building will be one-of-a-kind – a hybrid between a museum, gallery, community centre, science centre and laboratory. A dedicated space for people to explore, experiment, make, play and create together, to follow their own interests and trigger new ideas. It will be for everyone, whatever their background, wherever they are from, whatever their age.

Every part of the building, from the outside in, will reflect the ideas that children have dreamed up. With a world-class team, including Project Designer Thomas Heatherwick CBE, every aspect will also be beautifully and thoughtfully designed.

The scale, facilities and focus of the Institute of Imagination will enable it to offer a wide variety of programmes that cannot be delivered at school, home or in museums. Content and architecture will be closely integrated, so that the spatial environment delivers the methodology of experimentation and facilitates dynamic programmes.

The Institute of Imagination have already sparked the imaginations of over 2,500 children and their families through their pop-up Imagination Lab, and reached hundreds more in schools with their mobile Imagination Pods.

We are proud to support this exciting initiative, and will be hosting the Imagination Lab at Forte Village from 3 to 7 August 2015 for a week of engaging activities designed to inspire the imaginations of our guests – children and their parents alike!

“The Institute of Imagination is based on the unusual idea of creating a new kind of organisation set up to explore the extraordinary ability of humans to conceive and invent. I am excited to be helping with the conception of such a place that draws no distinction between the conventionally separated artistic, scientific and commercial spheres of human thinking.”
Thomas Heatherwick CBE, founder of Heatherwick Studios, Institute of Imagination Project Designer

“Really creative, inclusive, fun, good for kids of all ages – we all learnt something – and very friendly team.”
Feedback from a parent who attended the Imagination Lab London with her children