The Barber, based at the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus, is gearing up for a nine-day extravaganza of free family activities celebrating art and nature – inspired by one of the gallery’s summer exhibitions, The Hidden Lives of Plants: Botanical Illustrations from the V&A.

The festival, which takes place from 3-11 August, brings together a wide range of artist collaborators and local partners to run exciting, creative workshops and activities that encourage learning through play.

Perfect for children up to twelve years old, the programme this year includes the return of the popular Woodland Tribe, who equip children with real tools and empower them to build their own adventure playground.

Artist duo Juneau Projects will be running risograph printing workshops, where children can create vibrant prints of their own botanical designs and environmentally themed short films will be screened with Flatpack’s Colour Box.

Children will also be able to have a go at constructing plant forms and experimenting with natural materials, textiles and flowers in open-ended exploration.

For the full programme, visit barber.org.uk