Plan your trip, book workshops, hire classrooms and more!

The National Videogame Arcade offers three floors of interactive exhibitions and a series of workshops suitable for all key stages in the National Curriculum.

Through our education programmes we aim to:

Engage with all areas of the curriculum via digital learning.
Encourage engagement with STEM subjects.
Reach out to those with limited access to digital learning.

By engaging with our exhibitions and workshops students will:

Have an increased understanding of the digital industries and application of digital skills.
Raise their aspirations by developing the skills to participate in various aspects of digital creation, production, and research.
Be inspired to engage with and explore digital learning in line with and in extension to their curriculum.
Increase vocabulary and confidence when discussing and discovering digital media.

The following information is available as a print-friendly PDF NVA school visits

Experiencing the Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s 1995 entry into the 3D console market.

Prices

Gallery entry £6 per student.
Workshops from £60.
Teachers go free.

Please note that to qualify for the learning visit price, groups must be of 10 students or more from an educational institution.

Times

Mondays: Closed
Tuesday – Thursday: 10:00-18:00 (Open exclusively for education bookings)
Fridays: 10:00-18:00 Open to the public and education bookings)

Booking

To make a booking please call 0115 8813092 or email [email protected]

Practicalities

For information regarding access, lunch arrangements, and other operational concerns, please see our Schools Info

Plan your visit and FAQ

Download The National Videogame Arcade Risk Assessment

The following Schools Info is also available as a print-friendly PDF download NVA schools info

Visit details

Booking is essential for all groups.

To make a booking please call Rachel on 0115 8813092 or email [email protected]

Coach parking

The National Videogame Arcade does not have any parking facilities.

Coaches can drop off and pick up at the front of the building on Carlton Street.

Lunch

We can provide a room for packed lunches. Our Toast Bar is also available serving toast, snacks, and drinks. If you allow older students to leave the premises for lunch, there are a number of eateries in the surrounding area.

Disabled visitors

There is a lift to all floors, although some of our rooms have limited access. If you have students with accessibility requirements please let us know during your booking and we’ll make sure you are only in our accessible rooms.

SEN

We always advise SEN educators to visit us prior to booking your visit to assess whether the galleries are suitable for your students. The galleries can be unsuitable for light or noise sensitive guests.

Virtual Reality

We have a VIVE Virtual Reality headset in the galleries. Although there are no health warnings connected to using the VIVE, we recommend people make an individual assessment if they have dependants sensitive to light, motion, or claustrophobia.

Public Access

Parts of the NVA are open and accessible to the public at all times, including The Toast Bar and Lobby. We expect all visitors to adhere to our Anti Harassment Policy, detailed http://thenva.com/policies/

Shop

There is currently a gift shop, but we do not build a shop visit into our sessions.

Payment

We can accept payment via BACS, card, cheque, or cash.

Cancellations between 8 and 21 days will be charged 50% of the total booking cost.

Cancellations of 7 days or less will be charged 100%.

If you have any questions or would like to arrange a visit, please contact [email protected]

Schools workshops

We offer a range of workshops suited to all key stages and learner requirements.

The following information is available as a print-friendly PDF

Makey Makey Games Controller Workshop

Available Workshops

Makey Makey Games Controllers
Creative Writing with Twine
Introduction to Scratch
Introduction to Game Maker
Introduction to Python
Introduction to C++

Make Your Own Makey Makey Games Controller

Suitable for KS2 +
Duration: 1hr
Price: £50 + VAT
Tags: Electricity, conductive materials, circuits, science, craft, teamwork

Makey Makeys are brilliant little bits of kit that enable you to turn anything into a controller. Students will receive a demonstration on how to use the Makey Makey and be set a challenge. This could be to land a rocket, play an instrument, get furthest in a race; there are loads of options to pick from. Students then experiment with various conductive materials to create the best (and most outlandish) controller. Individuals or teams then put their controllers to the test!

Outcomes: Students will leave having applied their knowledge of conductive materials and circuits practically in order to achieve a goal. They should understand how the hardware and software components make up the system and how they communicate. Students will be inspired to create and participate in gaming experiences.

Outcomes: Students will leave having applied their knowledge of conductive materials and circuits practically in order to achieve a goal. They should understand how the hardware and software components make up the system and how they communicate. Students will be inspired to create and participate in gaming experiences.

CREATE INTERACTIVE STORIES WITH TWINE

Suitable for KS2+
Duration: 1hr
Price: £50 + VAT
Tags: Creative writing, intro to code, literacy, storytelling, english

Twine is a program that lets you create your own online adventure stories, reminiscent of the old 'choose your own adventure stories'.

During the workshop students will learn how to create and build their own online digital story, which they can take away with them and develop in the classroom or at home.

For more advanced students, our team can enhance their computational thinking by teaching them how to code and incorporate name recognition, inventory, variables, syntax, and more.

Outcomes: Each student will leave with the ability to use Twine at home or in the classroom and discover the resources to develop their digital literacy skills and explore the more detailed elements of Twine.

Requirements: In order to participate students should be able to write a short story. If you have a particular passage or topic you would like the students to work with, please let us know.

Intro to Scratch

Suitable for KS2+
Duration: 1hr
Price: £50 + VAT
Tags: Programming, coding, script

Scratch is a visual programming language that allows you to easily create playable games, and offers a stepping stone to the more advanced world of computer programming.

This introductory workshop shows you how to get going with Scratch. Students will design and write their own script, develop algorithm design, and experiment with motion, looks, sound, data, events, control, and operators.

Outcomes: Students will leave with a playable game that they can take home and continue to develop, analyse, and evaluate.

INTRO TO GAME MAKER

Suitable for KS3+
Duration: 1hr
Price: £60 + VAT
Tags: Programming, coding, script, game making, language

If your students are proficient with Scratch and ready to transition between drag-and-drop and scripting language, Game Maker is a great tool to introduce them to. By using the sandboxed scripting language, you can create games that would not be possible only using drag-and-drop.

This introductory workshop shows students how to get going with Game Maker, and will introduce them to the difference between visual programming and programming with script.

Outcomes: Students will make a simple game, and leave with the knowledge and ability to further their game making development at home.

INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON

Suitable for late KS4 +
Duration: 1hr
Price: £50 + VAT
Tags: Programming, Script, Code

Python is a popular and widely used language that emphasises code readability. This introductory session goes over the basics of the language, and is perfect for those about to start using it in school.

Introducing C++