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Family and adult learning activities
On this page:
- Adult Art Workshop: Make a floral watercolour with Kayleigh McCallum (9 August)
- Adult Art Workshop: Make a botanical plaster cast with Jo Barrett (6 September)
- Guided building tours (20 & 21 September)
- Family Baking Session – Bake chocolate marshmallow teacakes (20 September)
- Family Activity for Glasgow Doors Open Days: Miss Cranston’s Classroom (21 September)
- Public Talk: The colours of tea with Dr Yupin Chung (28 September)
- Adult Art Workshop: Make a hand-bound book with Toben Lewis (18 October)
- Adult Halloween event: Spirits of the Tea Rooms (25 October)
- Adult Art Workshop: Make an embossed copper box with Bryony Knox (15 November)
Family and adult learning activities at Mackintosh at the Willow offer different ways to engage with and discover the stories of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his wife Margaret Macdonald and their patron, the Edwardian businesswoman Kate Cranston. We run regular adult art workshops, public talks, special seasonal events and a popular family activity programme during the school holidays.
August events
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a floral watercolour with Kayleigh McCallum
Saturday 9 August, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £85 per person
Learn how to create a floral painting in watercolours with tutor Kayleigh McCallum, inspired by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s botanical paintings. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the watercolour workshop, and a break for soup and a sandwich with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £85.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025
Learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style in our workshops for adults. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
September events
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a botanical plaster cast with Jo Barrett
Saturday 6 September, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £75
Learn how to create a botanical plaster cast with tutor Jo Barrett, inspired by the Charles Rennie Mackintosh plaster casts in our front saloon. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the plaster cast workshop, and a break for soup and a sandwich with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £75.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025.
In our adult workshops, you can learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
Guided building tours for Glasgow Doors Open Days
Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 September, 10am and 11am
Tickets: Free (places are limited, booking is essential; bookings open 1 September)
Join us for a very special free tour to learn more about the history and design of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, the restoration of this Mackintosh masterpiece, and the visionary Edwardian entrepreneur, Miss Kate Cranston.
Learn about the stories of the tea rooms and experience first-hand the astounding interior design work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald in their commitment to an Art Nouveau ‘total artwork’ approach to the building.
The tour includes visits to the ground floor saloons, as well as the less-often accessed Salon de Luxe and Billiard Room.
Places are limited and booking is essential. If you are unable to attend, please refund your tickets so that others can participate.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk or telephone 0141 204 1903.
Find out more about accessibility
Book your ticket online (from 1 September)
The Scots Kitchen: Family Baking Session – Bake chocolate marshmallow teacakes
Saturday 20 September, 11.30am–1.30pm
Tickets: £7
Bring your family along to bake and decorate historical Scottish sweet treats to take home!
In this session our Head of Pastry, Jazmine Spears, will teach you and your family how to bake chocolate marshmallow teacakes.
While your sweet treats are baking, we will take you on a family-friendly tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building!
Part of The Scots Kitchen: Saturday Morning Baking Sessions for Families in 2025.
Workshops are suitable for children aged 5–12, but all are welcome. Places are limited, and booking is essential. All children must be accompanied by an adult. All children must have a booked paid place, but adults accompanying a child do not need to book paid places.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
Family activity for Glasgow Doors Open Days: Miss Cranston’s Classroom
Sunday 21 September, 1.30–2.30pm
Tickets: Free (places are limited, booking is essential; bookings open 1 September)
Bring your family and get a taste of 1903 in this extra-special Living History experience.
Meet Miss Kate Cranston and take part in her interactive classroom to find out if you have what it takes to work in a turn-of-the-century tea room. Practise your mental arithmetic, copper-plate handwriting, Mackintosh-inspired design skills and – most importantly – the art of serving the perfect cup of tea!
This workshop is suitable for families with children that are 9-12 years old, but all are welcome. Please be aware that Miss Cranston may be loud and sometimes strict; this may be alarming for younger children or children with additional support or sensory needs.
- Places are limited and booking is essential.
- All children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Both children and adults must have booked places.
- If you are unable to attend, please refund your tickets so that another family can participate.
This new workshop was originally developed for primary schools with Yilin Zhu and Qiyao Hu, students from University of Glasgow's MSc Museum Education, and actress Lesley Robertson. Costume, hair and make-up were generously produced by Flavia Burroni Miglio, Gilberto Miglio and Scottish Opera. Testing for the workshop was undertaken in collaboration with Golfhill Primary School, St Brides Primary School and St Aloysius Junior School.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk or telephone 0141 204 1903.
Find out more about accessibility
Book your ticket online (from 1 September)
The Dug Out – Public Talk: The colours of tea with Dr Yupin Chung
Sunday 28 September, 1–2.30pm
Tickets: £7
From one plant, tea makers can create different categories of tea. In this talk, Yupin will explore the colours of tea, followed by a unique tea tasting. Enjoy the delicate flavours of teas enhanced by the sweetness of Scotland’s famous soft water.
Dr Yupin Chung is a curator, art historian and Chair of The Seven Strings – Tea Connoisseur Society based in Glasgow. Drawing on historical sources and her own extensive experiences as she journeyed throughout China, Yupin not only provides piquant impressions of a beauty now departed but also gives practical information for the enjoyment of fine teas and of the attractive ceramic accessories that enrich the experience of brewing and drinking varied teas. In her research areas she specialises in oriental design influences in the Western world, the visual culture of tea and the Scottish tea merchants.
Part of The Dug Out: Sunday afternoon talks for the public in 2025.
Dig deeper into the inspirations and history surrounding the original Willow Tea Rooms building with our series of talks for the public. An expert leads all talks in their field and includes a chance to ask questions in one of our historical tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact us on obraid@nts.org.uk or 0141 204 1903.
October events
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make a hand-bound book with Toben Lewis
Saturday 18 October, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £95 per person
Learn how to create a hand-bound book with tutor Toben Lewis, inspired by Glasgow Style artists such as Talwin Morris and Ethel Larcombe. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the bookbinding workshop, and a break for soup and a sandwich with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included in the ticket price of £95.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025
Learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style in our workshops for adults. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
Adult Halloween event: Spirits of the Tea Rooms
Saturday 25 October, 6.15–9.15pm
Tickets: £29 per person (includes arrival cocktails and canapes)
Join us for an unforgettable night of mysticism, fortune-telling, mind-reading and historical intrigue with Cara Hamilton and Avi Lago!
Avi Lago teaches the ancient art of tasseomancy and Cara Hamilton presents an evening filled with spiritualism, fortune-telling, historical artefacts and uncanny powers.
Cara is a specialist in mind-reading, the paranormal, mesmerism and spiritualism, and she captivates audiences worldwide. Her shows, named a top ten must-see by The Times, have sold out across the UK, Germany, Canada and the USA. As an astrologer, psychic and paranormal consultant, her insights are both entertaining and informative.
Avi Lago leads an interactive workshop on tasseomancy, the art of reading tea leaves. With roots in magick, shamanism and Western occultism, Avi’s expertise in tarot, mediumship and traditional witchcraft will leave you spellbound. As an Ayurvedic Consultant and member of the British Association of Vedic Astrology, he offers Jyotish consultations, combining birth chart analysis and Vedic counselling.
Immerse yourself in the mystical world of Spirits of the Tea Rooms, where tea leaves reveal the future and spirits share their secrets. Book now for an unforgettable evening of wonder and intrigue.
November events
The Glasgow Style – Adult Art Workshop: Make an embossed copper box with Bryony Knox
Saturday 15 November, 10.30am–4pm
Tickets: £80 per person
An extra date due to popular demand! Learn how to create an embossed copper box with tutor Bryony Knox, inspired by Glasgow Style artists such as Margaret Gilmour or Frances Macdonald. The workshop begins with a tour of our historic building, followed by the embossing workshop, and a break for scones, cream, and jam with tea or coffee. All materials, food and drink are included with the ticket price of £80.
Part of The Glasgow Style: Saturday Art Workshops for Adults in 2025
Learn techniques associated with the iconic Glasgow Style in our workshops for adults. All workshops include a guided tour of the original Willow Tea Rooms building, professional tuition, and refreshments in our historic tea rooms.
To enquire further, please contact obraid@nts.org.uk on 0141 204 1903.
