Resources

DIY Art Turntable! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create amazing turntable art – we show you how to make your own Art Turntable with broken toys or cheap pans. We get very messy taking you through all the steps to the finished works of art!

Paddle Pop Boats! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make these amazing rubber-and powered Paddle Pop Boats!

Portrait Pots! FAST School Holiday Workshop

No matter the weather, no matter the season – your plant pots can be sunny, vibrant and fun!

Crazy Chocolate Cake! FAST School Holiday Workshop

This easy delicious vegan chocolate cake needs no mixing bowl, no mixing spoon, no eggs, no milk, no butter! With no hard beating, blending or creaming it’s perfect for kids to make and bake.

Paddle Pop Bracelets! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Learn how to shape Paddle Pop sticks permanently, and decorate them into bracelets!

Soda Bottle Rope Vase! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create beautiful rope vases with just a soda bottle, scissors and cord – you can also make your own Yarn!

Incredible Illusions! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make two incredible 3D illusions! Download the template files here: Illusion 1 and Illusion 2.

Retro String Art! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Learn how to create retro string art – a simple and fun way to make a masterpiece! Kelly and Ita take you through all the steps, and you can download and print our template to make it even easier.

Date Easter Eggs! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Have a healthier Easter by making these fun and tasty date Easter eggs.

Awesome Animal Art! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Learn how to draw snakes, lizards, owls and bring them to life in dazzling colour! If you just want to colour in you can download the templates. If you want to make your own watercolours watch that video workshop as well!

Best Ever Invisible Ink! FAST School Holiday Workshop

You won’t believe your eyes when you see our Hand Sanitizer Invisible Ink! We have tested all sorts of invisible inks and revealer solutions, but this is the absolute best high-contrast invisible ink we have ever seen – and you can make it at home with commonly found ingredients. The best bit: this invisible ink requires no heating, just mixing ingredients. Watch the video now to find out how to make the best ever invisible ink at home!

Magic Magnet Dioramas! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Defy gravity and make amazing dioramas with floating, moving elements – using the magic of magnets!

Make a Fidget Infinity Cube! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Learn how to make Fidget Infinity Cubes – large or small – from cardboard!

Slow Motion Videography! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Find out how to film in glorious slow motion with common smartphones and smart devices!

Homemade Watercolours! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Kelly and Ita show you how to make your own watercolour paint from ingredients found around the house, including some that create colour-changing chemical reactions!

Paper Snowflakes! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make festive paper snowflakes – a classic papercraft activity!

Festive Paper-Chain Elves! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Decorate your house with these cute and festive paper-chain elves!

Marshmallow Snowpeople! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make the delicious marshmallow snowmen and snowwomen – perfect for edible festive decorations!

Oil and Water Challenge: Talk Like A Scientist #2 Emulsion!

Learn about emulsion and emulsifiers as we challenge you to mix Oil and Water in this episode of “Talk Like A Scientist”.

Vortex Cannon! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create vortex cannons using old boxes to destroy targets using air power!

Zucchini Pizzas! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Get busy in the kitchen creating these zucchini pizzas as a fun lunch activity.

Zoetrope Cartoon Animator! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Bring your cartoons to life by building the 150 year old Zoetrope invention!

Balloon Cars! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Build and race balloon-powered Lego cars, propelled with air power!

Puff Pastry Hot Dogs! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Get busy in the kitchen creating puff pastry hot dogs as a fun lunch activity.

Chip Packet Key Rings! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create these amazing shrunken chip packet key rings!

Build a Solar Turbine! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Build a Solar Turbine that turns light energy into heat energy to spin a rotor using the renewable energy power of convection!

Tin Can Telephones: Talk Like A Scientist #1 Vibration!

Learn about vibrations and sound waves as you build a Tin Can Telephone in this episode of our “Talk Like A Scientist” series of STEM video workshops you can do at home with items commonly found around the house, in your recycling, garden and pantry.

Pick & cook Green Tomato Pickles! Veggie Patch Science #19

Don’t let your tomatoes go to waste when the frosts hit – make these delicious Green Tomato Pickles! We show you how to find a bumper crop then take you through an easy recipe – it just needs a bit of prep!

Paper Bangers! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make these simple paper bangers with just one sheet of A4 paper. Use them to scare your friends and family!

Painting with Light: Howlaround Video Art! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Use the webpage or files below to start painting with light to create amazing video art using the “Howlaround” technique in our video workshop!

Try our Mirror Webcam page or download a ZIP of both the Standard and Mirror code.
Watch a 15 minute howlaround video from one of our workshops at the Innovation Studio!

Dried Oranges! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make these delicious and tangy dried oranges this winter. Use them as decorations, have them in a drink or just eat them on their own.

Crayon Model Making! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Turn crayons into amazing models to give as gifts, display, play with – or just use to draw!

Whirly Birds! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Create these paper whirly birds that spin and glide slowly to the ground.

Pendulum Art! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Use gravity as your paintbrush to create beautiful pendulum art in your home – or in the garden!

Microwave Lemon Slice! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make this delicious lemon slice – perfect for afternoon tea or dessert – in the microwave!

Grow Sugar Crystals! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Grow sugar crystals in a jar on a string

Soda Bread! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Bake easy 4 ingredient soda bread with no rising time required!

Home 3D Scanning! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make your own 3D Scan using a smartphone or tablet! Download and print this sheet for the app to refer to in 3D space.

Microwave French Toast! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make truly delicious French Toast in under 2 minutes using the most amazing culinary invention since the toaster: the mighty microwave oven!

Harvesting Beans! Veggie Patch Science #19

Learn when and how to harvest your beans from the bean pole we built way back in episode five!

Pick and Cook Carrot and Coriander Soup! Veggie Patch Science #18

Make this delicious Carrot and Coriander Soup – we show you how to pull carrots without them snapping off, then take you through an easy carrot soup recipe!

Pick and cook Zucchini Slice! Veggie Patch Science #17

Make this delicious Zucchini Slice – we show you how to pick them safely without damaging yourself or your plant, then take you through an easy recipe – with tips for chopping onions and cleaning eggs! With vegetarian and meat options, this Zucchini slice is versatile enough to be eaten hot or cold, for lunch or dinner with all sorts of sides.

Make a Sundial! Veggie Patch Science #16

Make a colourful sundial that really works for your garden!

Easy Batch Composting! Veggie Patch Science #15

Making compost doesn’t have to be a back-breaking enterprise – ditch the garden fork and give a Batch Composting Bucket a literal whirl instead!

Make a Natural Bird Feeder! Veggie Patch Science #14

Go on a bush walk to collect natural items to build a bird feeder to hang in your garden!

Make Fluffy Slime! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Create your own soft fluffy slime with Amy.

Set up a Remote Camera! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Set up your own remote camera using an old Android phone and protect yourself from biscuit thieves!

Make a Solar Cooker! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make a Solar Cooker from recycling and tinfoil to bake biscuits, cook rice – even a vegetable stew using nothing but the power of the sun!

Chewy ANZAC Biscuits! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make these moist and chewy ANZAC biscuits in the oven – or see our later video to cook them in a solar oven!

Rainbow Wizards Brew! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Stir up a magical bubbling volcanic brew with a bicarb-soda chemical reaction.

Mini Holograms! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make you own mini hologram using your mobile or tablet – download the template and the example holo-vid.

Rainbow Oven Pancakes! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make these dazzling rainbow pancakes in the oven, so you can all eat at once!

Make a Bee Billabong! Veggie Patch Science #13

Give your pollinating insects a helping hand by creating a safe place for them to sit and sip!

Make a Watering Can / Conserve Water! Veggie Patch Science #12

Learn how to conserve enough water for your garden every day – and make a watering can with upcycled bottles!

Pest Control! Veggie Patch Science #11

Now our plants are in we need to protect them from all sorts of hungry slugs, snails, aphids and other insects! Learn how to humanely keep pests off your veggie patch – and the last resort that is White Oil.

Plant Lomandra! NAIDOC Week 2020 – Veggie Patch Science #10

They say Lomandra thrives on neglect – but what does that really mean? Learn how to plant and nurture this native grass in this special NAIDOC Week 2020 gardening workshop.

Plant your Salads and Veggies! Veggie Patch Science #9

Plan where to put your plants so the right ones get of the plenty of sun or shade – and learn about Companion Planting, where some plants can protect others from pests or need to be kept apart as they compete for the same resources!

Frost Protection! Veggie Patch Science #8

Learn about why frost happens, where it happens most – and how to protect your seedling and winter vegetables from it!

Make a Rain Gauge! Veggie Patch Science #7

After some slight head-scratching, we use observational science to work out whether your veggie patch needs watering with our simple DIY rain gauge – it’s no to BOM standards, but we tell you why it doesn’t need to be!

Grow long straight carrots and big round beetroots! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #6

Don’t end up with tiny and twisted dirt-clogged carrots, with a little bit of sand we show you how to grow these long and straight – and great big beetroot too!

Make a Bean Pole Teepee! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #5

We plant our very first vegetable seedlings in the garden – climbing beans – and show you how to build a bean-pole teepee!

Make a Bird Nest Shop! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #4

Help the birds this spring by building a bird nest shop for your garden – our scarecrow may keep birds away from our seedlings but birds are very useful in the garden by eating insects that may damage our crop – so we don’t want to scare them away completely!

Build a Home Monorail FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make a network of monorail lines and trains – both gravity-powered and balloon-propelled – in your home or garden!

Create Exploding Ninja Stars! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Be a real Australian Ninja Warrior and make exploding ninja stars to hit targets or film with your smartphone in slow motion! Julian takes you through all the steps – just don’t attack people or pets.

Make Marbled Giftwrap! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make marbled gift paper to add a special touch to your next present! Amy takes you through all the steps in this fun artistic activity.

Make Hair Scrunchies! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make your very own scrunchie to embellish your hairstyle or give to friends and family as gifts! Megan takes you through all the steps in this beginner sewing tutorial. Remember, many of our library branches have sewing machines available to use!

Make a Water Tornado! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make a tornado in a water bottle and check out the beautiful swirling glitter effect! Amy takes you through all the steps in this fun science activity.

Build a Pool Noodle Albatross! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make a pool noodle albatross to soar further and higher than a paper plane! Julian takes you through all the steps and heads down to the oval to try it out.

Honeycomb Cinder Toffee! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Use a chemical reaction to fill sugar with bubbles and make sweet honeycomb cinder toffee – or Hokey Pokey to some!

Growing from Seed for Free! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #3

We show you how to start growing vegetables from seed in our third Veggie Patch Science workshop – and if your library has a seed library it may not cost you anything!

Make a Scarecrow! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #2

In the second of our Veggie Patch Science workshops we take a break from digging to show you how to make a scarecrow!

Dig Your Plot! Veggie Patch Science Workshop #1

In the first of our Veggie Patch Science workshops we show you how to create a compass to choose the perfect spot for your plot, plan your vegetable patch and get digging or filling pots. We’ll also show you what we have in store for future weeks!

DIY Filter Coffee! Home Workshop

One for the adutlts – out camping or stuck in a very basic kitchen but want to brew some coffee? We’ll show you how to make it as good as with a plunger / coffee press but using just a keep-cup and some kitchen wipes!

DIY Smartphone Speaker Stand! Home Workshop

Make a speaker and stand for your smartphone with just a tube, some cups or bottles – and a pair of scissors. Jonathan takes you through all the steps – even the dance steps!

Balloon Weather Station! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make your own barometer to predict the rain and learn about air pressure in this fun science workshop!

Stop Motion Animation! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make your own Stop Motion Animation in this fun art and technology workshop!

Bottle Xylophone! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make a bottle xylophone with bottles, spoons, water – and either an ear for music or an app in this fun musical science workshop! If you want to use the app mentioned in this workshop, download it for Android or Apple devices. The app is advert-supported and may contain in-app purchases, so check with an adult first.

Monster Eggs! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Creep out everyone when you create these amazing monster eggs in this fun art workshop!

Festy Fake Wounds! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Scare your friends with fake wounds in this fun art workshop!

Edible Garden! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Grow your own edible garden in this fun science workshop!

Celery Straws! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Discover how plants transport water and nutrients in this colourful science workshop!

Fabulous Foil Art! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create amazing shiny pictures and jewelry with this fun art workshop!

Stained Glass Biscuits! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make amazing see-through Stained Glass Biscuits in this fun cooking workshop!

Chocolate Crackles! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make our classic chocolate crackles in this delicious cooking workshop!

Sherbet! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make your own sherbet with this fun cooking workshop!

UFO Mini Pizzas! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create edible UFOs (mini pizzas) with this fun cooking workshop!

Fast Scones! FAST School Holiday Workshops

Make scones from just three ingredients – and pair them with butter and jam you can make yourself in our other workshops!

Home-made Microwave Jam! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make your own Jam in the microwave with this fun cooking workshop!

Home-made Butter! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Make your own Butter using marbles in this fun cooking workshop!

Home-made Ice Cream! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Learn how to make Ice Cream at home two different ways – one with just a banana and a blender, the other by whisking Cream and Evaporated Milk together. Discover how to add all sorts of amazing and crazy flavours, including Chocolate Freckle Rainbow Ice Cream, Mango Ice Cream, Mint Choc-Chip Ice Cream – and even Massaman Curry Ice Cream!

Chocolate Bananas! FAST School Holiday Workshop

Create delicious chocolate-coated banana treats with this fun cooking workshop!

Rainbow Periscope! Home Workshop

Fill your world with rainbows with our periscope – all you need is a cardboard tube, 2 old CD/DVD discs, some tape – and a pair of scissors!

The Micro:bit Tutorial 4 – Radio Communication

The Micro:bit Radio Tutorial 4 by the CNRL Library Innovation Studio. The tutorial uses the Makecode website to program a virtual Micro:bit from with your browser. It can be found at https://makecode.microbit.org/

Cardboard Construction Kit! Engineering Home Workshop

Make this practically free toy construction set to build anything you can imagine. All you need is unwanted cardboard and a pair of scissors!

Gummi Gifts! Cooking Home Workshop

Make love hearts, dinosaurs – all sorts of shapes – with gummi bear lollies, scissors, baking paper and an oven. The perfect sweet gift for Mothers Day, Birthdays, Valentines Day – or any day!

2 minute Cake! Cooking Home Workshop

Fancy some cake? You could be eating a great big mug of cake in 2 minutes if you stir quick enough! All you need is a microwave, a mug and a tablespoon – no other equipment! Find out how in our video.

CNRL Interactive Science Workshop – Fun With Bicarb

Join Amy and Julian as they have some fun with Bicarb Soda.

Bubble Snake! Messy Science Home Workshop

Why use a one-hole bubble wand when you could have a thousand-hole bubble snake? All you need is scissors, a sock, a bottle and an elastic band – then you can fill your garden, your bath, your world with bubbles! We’ll show you how to make bubble mixture too with just water and dishwashing liquid.

CNRL Interactive Science Workshop – Hi-Tech Claw

Join Julian as he creates a cardboard claw using pulleys.

CNRL Interactive Science Workshop – Colour Changing Milk

Join Amy as she uses milk and food colouring to create fun colours.

Opening Hours

The CNRL Library Innovation Studio is open to adults and ages 16+ upstairs at Tamworth City Library at the times listed below, with special events and after-school clubs at other times for younger ages (see our events page). Schools can also book excursions to the Library Innovation Studio.

@ Tamworth Library

Kids MakerspaceTuesday
3.30pm - 6pm
Homeschoolers MakerspaceWednesday
10am - 12pm
Adults MakerspaceThursday
1pm - 5pm

We are closed on Public Holidays and most School Holidays - full details here.

Equipment Inductions

A confident computer proficency is required to use most of our equipment, and but some items will also require a formal safety induction.
Book into our group induction session now on our Events page, or contact us if these times do not suit.