Scratching Vinyl
There are various things you can do with vinyl, but by far the most exciting and rewarding (according to me) is learning to scratch! Scratching was developed by early hip-hop DJs from New York such as Grand Wizard Theodore and DJ Grandmaster Flash and it has come a long way since. The masterful DJ School UK invite you to take your first (or second or third) steps into the world of scratching - learn the baby scratch, chirp scratch, drag scratch and many more! And what better excuse to point you to one of our favourite albums of the moment Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys (which is scratch-tastic).
Synth Building with Synth Shed
For a few years we have run our own synth building workshops with 555 integrated timer chips. However, with the box of bits needing replenishment we have invited the Synth Shed to run their own synth building workshop. Their design is a huge improvement on ours, it will even feature a branded Deer Shed mint tin to house your new toy. With no experience necessary Simon Synth will guide you through the build - explaining what on earth is going on along the way. This will be a bookable workshop, available shortly via our pre-booking page (and announced via the usual channels).
Retro Gaming - New Consoles!
Another one of your favourite workshops that we are going to invest heavily in this year. Having very kindly been donated an old Dragon 32 machine, we are tracking down even more vintage consoles and old tellies (all PAT tested!). We are trying to get the machine count to at least ten, varying in age from the Atari 2600 to the first PlayStation - we are certainly open to requests too! It is becoming quite a thing. Once more you can fail to convince your kids that old games were way better...
NoisyToys - Scavengers
We have been trying to entice NoisyToys to Deer Shed for a while, and this year it has all come together. We make no apologies for amount of audio related adventures available in the science tent, we are a music festival after all, and NoisyToys perfectly embody this. Running their scavenger’s workshop, they will invite you to discover the various ways that we can dig deep in the properties of sound using bits and bobs of discarded audio equipment. So, mind bending experiments using old speakers, circuits, magnets and much more!
Thunkist
Thunkist AKA Simon East is a long-standing visitor to the festival. Simon is a musician and creative technologist who specialises in taking movement from smartphones and smartwatches and using that to trigger sounds and visual effects. Those interested in the audio side of things can expect to wrangle everything from chilled ambient sounds to hectic breakbeats in Ableton Live. Dancers/movers can expect to be creating soundscapes by moving their bodies.
Escape Boxes - New Boxes!
Our Escape Boxes are just super-popular in the science tent. Custom-made for us a while back we are doubling down on this activity for 2025 and commissioning some new boxes! Inspired by our experience of escape rooms - break in, break out, it's the same idea. All you need to do is break into them using perception, logic, intelligence, observation, spatial awareness - you get the idea. They are all super cunning, and all delightful brain twisters!
Rubik's Cube Workshop
In 1982 (or whenever it was) being able to solve the Rubik's cube turned you into a God in the playground, this divine status was irritatingly short-lived as I remember. We have in the past flogged you our own custom cubes. We are going to again this year - plus we'll also teach you how to solve the puzzle. Then you'll forget a move, but we'll also provide you with a cheat sheet to take away, so no drama - just adulation :)
Puzzle Corner - New Puzzles!
It’s time to order more puzzles from our favourite puzzle store in Edinburgh! This experience is a tribute to the work of YouTuber Mr Puzzle with whom we have become slightly obsessed since we discovered his channel. Mr Puzzle solves physical puzzles from all sorts of makers, and ranks their difficulty. Some of the puzzles he solves are fiendishly difficult - it's hard to know who to admire more, the designer of the puzzle or Mr Puzzle for being able to solve it. Anyhoos we will have a selection of our favourite puzzles for you to try and solve.
Rocket Launching
Deer Shed becomes Mission Control for one weekend only as we build and launch our own rockets! You design what your space flight will look like, and we'll see how high we can get it! An old favourite activity at Deer Shed, we have already started shouting out locally for empty pop bottle donations. It is certainly time to invest in a couple of new track pumps to match the quality of our German made precision engineered launcher :)
To infinity and beyond, or at least clearing the top of the comedy Big Top Tent!
Gizmobots
In Mark's own words - "As a 5 y/o boy, I used to get cogs and clock parts from my clock repairing dad and scrap off my bin man uncle. Me and my dad would sit at the kitchen table and make rockets and robots and mad vehicles out of the stuff. 40 years later I turned it into my business, Gizmobots, making robot sculptures out of found objects. Some are just sculptures, whilst others have a function such as being a lamp or a music player. Alongside making robots, I like the idea of passing on my skills to future generations, and, as such, I will be providing robot building workshops at the festival." Ace.
Laser Maze
We have constructed own laser maze. You know the thing, you contort your body to avoid breaking the laser beams as you try to reach the enormous diamond sitting on the red velvet cushion on a plinth at the end of the corridor. There is no diamond unfortunately. The maze itself doesn't look exactly like the aspirational image presented above, but you won't need a crash helmet unless you think it will give you a competitive edge, as you try to complete the maze in the quickest time. A very popular fun, slightly scary activity that we tweak every year so that last year’s best route through the maze no longer exists (cue super-villain laughter).
Mylar Melodies
Like DivKid below, Mylar Melodies is an old friend of the festival on a mission to get you hooked into making your own music. Mylar is a great communicator with a YouTube channel that reflects this talent. Taking you on a journey through the latest accessible music tech, as well as some vintage avenues, we hope you will find some time over the weekend to visit Alex and friends.
DivKid
DivKid AKA Ben Wilson is a long-standing friend of the festival and science tent veteran. You might expect a science tent at a music festival to have a music production slant, and so we do. Ben is a music technologist who has made a big name for himself as a Youtuber but also as an instrument designer and collaborator mostly in the field of Eurorack modular synthesis. Join Ben and friends in our music production area. Prepare to have your music-tech appetite wetted.
Madlab Soldering
Being able to solder is a very useful skill, and it's not hard to learn. To teach you we have the very keen and experienced Madlab. Madlab are an innovative electronics company that manufactures electronic kits that you can put together to make your own useful gadgets. From lie detectors to electronic bagpipes they have something for all budgets and all abilities, from beginners to master solderers.
VR
Put a telly on your nose - that's virtual reality to you and me. After twenty years of being a thing, VR is now a thing that you and I can actually have a go on! Look like what’s-his-name out of Daft Punk whilst your brain struggles to come to terms with walking through space or jumping off the highest skyscraper imaginable, all without leaving the safe confines of the Deer Shed science tent.