The interior of a finished den.

The children were inventive and creative when making their dens using a variety of techniques to support them, some using frames and some supporting the structures using the surrounding walls.

Children sitting in their finished den.

Children sitting in their finished den having a picnic lunch.

Children sitting in their finished den. They had a rule that you had to "take your shoes off before you can come in."

The children were given a disposable camera for each den group. Some of the children asked if they could use the students DSLRs, and did so with the help of the students.

One boy wanted to be an alien, so used the materials to dress up! Here he is looking at himself in the reflection of the glass rooflight.

The children were obviously excited to build the dens, running around on the roof collecting as many materials as possible. They worked well together and with the students, collaborators and their teachers, using their imaginations to create some fantastic dens!

We brought some of the materials that would be used to build dens out to the roof terrace so the children could see what they would have to build with and play with the items.

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

After lunch, the children used pens, paper and chalk to create their own drawings of dens, the aliens and what they had seen around the School of Art.

Materials found, gathered and donated for the den building!

Chalk drawings covering the roof terrace.

We scanned in the children's drawings and turned them into short gif animations. While the children had been out on the roof, a student was photographing their work and the children pointed and said "look an alien!" calling it the popcorn alien, so this was turned into an animation.

Using chalk to draw on the roof.

The children were sent home from the day happy but covered in chalk dust!

After lunch, the children used pens, paper and chalk to create their own drawings of dens, the aliens and what they had seen around the School of Art.

At one point on the tour, the two groups of children spotted each other across the atrium!

Taking the children on a tour of the School of Art. The children noted the triangle shapes used for the bridges. Later one girl drew out triangles in chalk, saying "I'm drawing triangles because they are really strong."

Taking the children on a tour of the School of Art.

The children were encouraged to touch all the surfaces and materials. They were interested in all the different textures of concrete used in the building.

The children found all the different activities and subjects going on in the open studios very exciting!

The children from the Friars Primary School in Salford visit the School of Art. Our tour began in the entrance, and the children were asked to look up, which caused lots of gasping and "wows". They tried to guess how many times they could fit their school into the space.

Working as a team, the first and second year students created a story that would be told to children to get them excited. The story will take them on a journey from their school to the city in search of aliens! Looking out for key landmarks on the way, such as the Blue Mountain (blue pedestrian footbridge) and the Control Tower (the Renault car garage).

We visted the RIBA Hub where our collaborators PLACES Projects are based for a talk about their approach to working with children in a collaborative and creative way. Their exhibition 'Going Places, Growing Places' as part of the Architecture School for Children had its opening the night before so students were able to look around the display.