- 20.07.26
The perfect summer activity for kids & teens in Milton Keynes
The screens. They’re everywhere. In pockets, on desks, under thumbs, beside beds. You’re looking at one right now. So are we. It’s no secret that our collective attachment to screens makes the screen-time conversation with children a lot more complicated. After all, it’s not as if adults are living a beautifully analogue existence, immune to losing half an hour to a video we never meant to watch and will most likely never remember.
So, when the summer holidays roll around, and kids have time to kill with a device designed for exactly that, it’s no surprise that parents start to fear every spare hour becoming another scroll. But declaring war on screens without offering anything better probably won’t get anyone very far.
At Unity Place, we believe the answer lies in learning something useful. Something creative. And something every young person already knows how to do – but not how to do it really well.
If you’re wondering what’s on in Milton Keynes this summer that could get the kids absorbed in something other than social media, our free photography workshops are well worth a look. Designed for juniors and teens, they give young photographers a chance to turn a familiar habit into something they can get good at.
Capturing the moment
You can suggest all the hobbies in the world, but if a young person can’t see the connection to their own life, enthusiasm may be limited. For a teenager who already spends part of their day taking photos, watching videos and understanding the world visually, the camera roll offers a more obvious way to begin.
For this generation, taking a picture is second nature. They know how to capture a moment, send it, save it, post it, delete it, retake it, filter it and judge it in about four seconds. What they may not always know is why one image works better than another. Why light changes everything. Why noticing small details can completely change what you see.
Our summer photography workshops are now fully booked, but there's plenty more to come. Sign up to the Unity Place newsletter to be the first to hear about future family events, workshops and activities.
Making creativity fun
The trouble with creativity is that adults can make it sound like homework in a nicer outfit. We talk about its benefits. Its value. Its ability to support self-expression and new ways of thinking. All true, of course. But possibly not the most thrilling pitch to a 13-year-old who doesn’t plan on spending part of the summer becoming a more rounded individual.
Photography has the advantage of not needing much of a hard sell. Most young people already understand images, even if they haven’t thought much about what happens before the edit. The workshop gives that instinct a bit more structure, introducing framing and observation without making creativity feel like something they’ve been marched into for their own good.
The missing middle
There’s an idea in urban sociology called the “third place”. Home is the first place. Work or school is the second. The third place is somewhere else entirely: a space to meet people and feel part of a community out of choice, not necessity.
For teenagers especially, those places can be harder to find than they should be. They’re often too old for children’s activities, too young for adult spaces, and not always given many options beyond hanging around or heading back online.
At Unity Place, we want to offer the chance to be that third place. Not just for events in Milton Keynes. But to give young people a chance to meet people their own age, try something new and be part of something in real life.
More than a space to wait
Of course, finding something good for the children to do is only half the battle. The other half is what you’re supposed to do while they’re doing it.
At Unity Place, the answer doesn’t have to be sitting in the car, scrolling on your own phone while you wonder if you’ve got time to make it home and back. While the juniors and teens get to grips with their photography skills, parents and grandparents can make use of the building too.
If you need to catch up on work, you can take your pick of co-working spots, from a seat at Santander Café to a membership at x+why, with private offices available to rent. And if you get peckish, the Urban Food Market has you covered, whether you’re after a pick-me-up coffee or want to make a meal of it with the kids afterwards, with street food vendors serving everything from bánh mìs to burgers.
A different focus
The aim isn’t to make children feel bad for enjoying the things they already enjoy. It’s to give those interests somewhere more interesting to go.
A photography workshop won’t end the screen-time conversation forever, and no one’s pretending it will. But it can give juniors and teens a few hours of something active and absorbing, with a camera in their hands and a bit more purpose behind the picture.
The best things in life are free, after all.
Our Community Hall
The photography workshops take place in the Community Hall at Unity Place, a flexible space designed for local events, activities and group sessions in Milton Keynes.
It works well for young photographers learning how to frame a shot, but it’s not just a room for Unity Place plans. With space for up to 40 people and no hire fee, the Community Hall is also available for community organisers in Milton Keynes, small groups and pretty much anyone else with an idea that needs somewhere to happen.
Whether it’s a talk, meet-up, creative session or something else entirely, the space is there if you’ve got an idea that needs a home.
Got a question?
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