With the introductory workshop“Minikosmos Straße,”we provide an exciting introduction to the world of mathematics, computer science, technology, and the natural sciences. Children learn where they encounter these fields in everyday life and what kinds of careers are associated with them.
To start with, we’ll discuss together why we’re visiting the class in the first place: We want to show how diverse careers in technology and science are, and how closely they’re linked to something all children use every day—the road. Together, we’ll explore some key questions:
- What is a street?
- Who uses the roads?
- Who plans and builds roads?
- What kinds of jobs are needed to build and maintain a road?
The material is primarily explored in small groups. Students move through various stations where they solve tasks in a playful manner, discover connections, and approach the topic through play and exploration. For example, they match street scenes to different types of streets or associate street names with corresponding images.
Exploring street names is particularly fascinating: The children look for examples on their own and discover that significantly more streets are named after men than after women. This observation is discussed as a group and prompts reflection on who is visible in public spaces and who is less so.
Another focus is on who uses the street and everything that goes with it. Together, we collect small data sets—such as how the children got to school that day. The results are compiled, compared, and visualized.
The workshop has already been held at several schools in Vienna, including Friedrichsplatz Primary School, Piaristenplatz Primary School and Boerhaavegasse Grammar School. The content and methods are flexibly adapted to the children’s age and prior knowledge.
Photos: B-NK GmbH
If you are interested, please feel free to enquire about this workshop, which can be tailored to your school’s needs. Please contact us at office@b-nk.at