From dreamers and bibliophiles to grunge rockers and artists, Buenos Aires is a thriving city of culture that offers something for everyone. Of course, tango classes and Spanish lessons await the common tourist and expatriate, but we’ve scoured the city for some of the most interesting alternative workshops to try out while you’re in town. Note that though many are about working with your hands, all of these courses are conducted in Spanish, so a basic grasp of the language will help get the most out of them.

Mantra del Sur (courtesy of Mantra del Sur)

Mantras Del Sur

Walking into this bohemian, retail shop is like stepping into a multi-coloured world of love. The converted mechanics garage has a floor made from the refurbished pinewood of a boat pulled out of the Riachuelo, and crocheted clothes and home décor fill the racks and shelves. Inside, Lucia Alvaréz is not only using recycled and natural materials to make fashion eco-friendly, but she is also revolutionising a world that was formally reserved for the above-80 age group. “It’s an energy,” says Alvaréz , as she talked about her project to beautify the city by enveloping trees in crocheted blankets around Buenos Aires. The apparel designer offers technical workshops in appliqués, embroideries and patchwork for the inventive and fashionable, and will help with just about any project that involves a needle and thread.

Angel J. Carranza 1668/79, 3103-2348, mantrasdelsur.com.ar

Frequency and Duration: A weekly 2-hour class, Cost: $250 monthly + materials

Planetario de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires 'Galileo Galilei' (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Planetario de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires ¨Galileo Galilei¨

To infinity and beyond! Since the South Pole faces the galactic centre of the Milky Way, stargazers and philosophers can see billions of stars more clearly from the Southern hemisphere. In addition to the clearer skies, Argentina´s proximity to the southernmost point on earth also enables an astronomer to see a greater number of circumpolar constellations like the Southern Cross and Carina. In this course offered by the planetarium, Mariano Ribas discusses the new model of the solar system, the eight planets and their moons, the “Asteroid Belt” and the threat of asteroids, the “Kuiper Belt”, Pluto and the “dwarf planets,” theories and revelations about comets, space missions, space exploration, life chances on Mars, extra-solar planets, “Hot Jupiter,” and the chances of extra-terrestrial life. And that´s just the first five classes.

Avenida Sarmiento and Belisario Roldán 4772-9265 planetario.gov.ar/otras_cursos.html

Frequency and Duration: A weekly 2½-hour class, Cost: Free. Hands-on class observation with telescopes subject to favourable weather conditions.

Besos de Vidrio (Photo: Natalie Schachar)

Besos de Vidrio

For the not-too-clumsy hobby searcher, glass art beckons. Although the form is lesser known than its cousins, sculpture and ceramics, this branch of decorative arts has been around since Roman times and is now available to anyone in Buenos Aires who would like to continue on the neo-classical tradition. Surprisingly, glass can be moulded on an artist’s whim, and a weekly workshop details how to cut, polish, shape and colour any lustred surface. Tiffany lamps, mirrors, accessories— if it has vitreous properties you can probably make it here.

Guatemala 5794 4776-6942 www.besosdevidrio.com.ar

Frequency and Duration: A weekly 2-hour class, Cost: $200 monthly + materials

Olivos Custom Guitars (Photo: Diego Espinosa)

Olivos Custom Guitars

Forget Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster – here you can build our own guitar. Starting from a template that allows the form of a guitar to be replicated onto wood, and then using scaled diagrams, Lucas Rodriguez Fontán walks his students through the entire electric guitar and bass making process. From calibrating the neck to wiring circuits and inputting the bridge and tailpiece systems, Fontán assures that both beginners and techies can build and design their own instrument. Depending on how much time is invested, the instrument-maker estimates that it typically takes between six and eight months to finish a guitar and costs a little under US$1000 total for all the materials and the course.

Córdoba 2965 Olivos 1636, Buenos Aires; 5407-0011, olivoscustomguitars.com.ar

Frequency and Duration: A weekly 4-hour class, Cost: $450 monthly + materials

Jorge Luis Borges (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Understand and Enjoy Borges I and II

In the intricate world of Jorge Luis Borges, animals, memories, dreams and myths coalesce in surrealist circles to form some of the best fiction ever written. The Argentine essayist, short-story writer and poet mastered the narrative form, but also altered it forever by reassigning conventional notions of space and time and interweaving realistic mysteries and profundities into his fantastical works. Through the workshop, Alicia Ardila interprets the profuse symbolism found in the texts and essays, guides readers through Borge’s complex use of language, and assures that the universalist, philosophical ideas of the author become more accessible to all.

Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas Corrientes 2038, 4954-5521/4954-5523,
rojas.uba.ar/cursos/adultos_mayores/contenidos_literatura.php#10

Frequency and Duration: A weekly 2-hour class Cost: $200 monthly

Arts and Crafts Creations (Photo courtesy of Mosaik)

Walking into Mosaik, I’m suddenly seven years old again.

Surrounded by printed wrapping paper, glitter, ribbons, coloured beads and a soundtrack of Disney classics, I feel compelled to sit down and start fighting for crayons and glue. Naturally, I’m relieved to learn from owner Carolina Melhem, that Mosaik welcomes people aged “from four to 1,000″, and that the feeling is normal.

Not your average arts and crafts shop, Mosaik doesn’t mind letting their customers get their hands dirty.

As well as selling all the arts and crafts materials you’d expect, they also offer a variety of artistic workshops and a cosy space for customers to go wild and create as they wish.

You can either buy individually priced items to take home with you, or, from as little as $25, you can choose from a selection of objects, including moulds, mugs, aprons, stuffed toys, storage boxes and toy furniture, to decorate yourself inside the store.

With as much time as you need, and complimentary use of a range of supplies and decorations, many of which are seasonal, you’re guaranteed to be able to find, or create, a perfect gift in time for Hanukkah or Christmas.

Creative Fun (Photo courtesy of Mosaik)

A small coffee counter selling basic foods also means anyone fancying themselves as a gourmet decorator can have fun with freshly made biscuits and cupcakes, or creating their own unique take on the Argentine alfajor.

“We offer an alternative to going to the cinema or staying in front of the computer,” says Carolina. “In here there’s active interaction between parents and their children. It’s good for the children’s self esteem, since parents encourage them to choose what they want to experiment with, and actively listen to their choices.”

Inspired by a trend she encountered whilst living in New York, Carolina also organises arts and crafts themed birthday parties. And whilst the in-store options certainly keep younger customers occupied, adults are far from excluded from the fun.

Workshops and seminars, some of which are complimentary, offer an opportunity for children and adults to try their hand, or improve their skills, in crochet, knitting, macramé, marine knot making, jewellery making, and even origami.

Lessons in découpage for example, the artistic technique of applying coloured paper cut outs to objects combined with special painted on effects, is a favourite with people of all ages.

Mosaik opened in August 2008, although the concept of a walk-in arts and crafts atelier remains relatively new in Argentina. As the only shop of its kind in the country, Carolina admits that whilst the idea is irresistible to some, it’s still undiscovered by others.

Arts and Crafts Enthusiast (Photo courtesy of Mosaik)

“Argentines aren’t used to the idea of this shop,” she says, “which is why we offer several free events – to try and open people’s minds to it.”

As eight women of all ages arrive to attend a crochet class, I’m happy to sit down with them and learn how to turn knots and loops into a scarf.

The teacher, Patrícia Charo, has a passion for crochet. As well as teaching workshops at Mosaik, she’s also a professor of production techniques at the University of Palermo, and designs patterns for publication in crochet magazines.

The class, in this case made up of women of all skill levels, had typically discovered Mosaik by chance, but since returned to enjoy each other’s company while learning something new.

And whilst Mosaik’s regular customer base continues to build by word of mouth, a steady stream of curious passers-by can also be relied upon. “There are a lot of foreigners who come to my shop,” says Carolina. “Sometimes groups of them meet up here.”

So, with children as young as four invited in to play with moulds, glitters and glues, and adults and younger customers aged eight and upwards welcomed on workshops, it’s time to play. Do you want to join us?