'Scientific shopping'...!

Anis Albasha

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the mall with my son to buy new slippers for him. I did not expect that our trip would be also a good opportunity to have a science-fun time for both of us! Educational researchers assure that 'science starts at home'. While that's absolutely true, science can also be found in fun places like the commercial center in the city where I live.

It was one of the cold days of February, as the famous song says, when my son and I went to the Mall in order to look for new slippers , Hausschuhe' in German, for him. I already knew that buying any kind of shoes for my son is not going to be an easy task because he belongs to the 5-7- age group. Since this group covers a wide range of children, this size is quickly sold out. Therefore, we left home early in the morning and I was prepared to spend a long strenuous day moving from one shop to another. I even took a book and some snacks with me!

Once we entered the mall, we saw that certain areas of its concourse were occupied with different sets of objects and tools. In fact, we used to see different small exhibits in this mall where different themes are displayed depending on the season. For instance, when the autumn arrives, we see different kinds of crops placed in scattered miniature farms in the hall. In Christmas time, the hall would be filled with Christmas decorations, trees, etc.  But on that day, the purpose of those wooden and metal installations in the hall wasn't obvious to me, so I told my son: “why don't we go and find out about that?”, and that was the beginning of the 'scientific fun' we both had.

I found out that the main theme of the exhibit was 'the senses'. The purpose of all the installations in the hall was to help children finding out by themselves about that concept through different kind of games and activities.  Next to each set, there were instructions in both English and German explaining the purpose of the game or the activity and how it works.

In the first modular exhibit I saw a banner stand with a photo and a short biography of the German carpenter, pedagogue and artist Hugo Kükelhaus. According to the Wikipedia, 'Kükelhaus (1900-1984), is regarded as a harbinger for infant toy designs that fulfill the requirements of developmental psychology. He gained international recognition for his design of 30 "Experience stations" at the German Pavilion of the Expo 1967 in Montreal. His ideas are relevant for contemporary theories of intelligence, educational technology educational and the design of learning environments'.    

 My son and I started to check the installations one after another. For example, in one exhibit there are different kind of materials such as rocks, woods and wool placed in a number of boxes and children can touch the contents of each box with their bare hands so they can get the different feeling of each texture.

Moreover, there was in another sector a big metal cylinder for steam rings in which 
children can watch how the string rings move and how far they come. 

My son was so excited by all the games and the activities. I have read once that young children are more engaged with things they can see, touch, manipulate and modify. This concept was obvious to me when I watched my son moving from one set to another trying to figure out the purpose of each one.

Among all the activities, what sparked my son's interest, and mine too, was the optical trick of the invisible body or what is called the 'Head on a platter'; a person goes under a glass table placed in a booth and people who stand outside the booth can only see his head which protrudes from a hole in the middle of the table while the rest of his body magically disappear!

 He was fascinated by that trick in particular though he tried all the activities more than once. But he would always came back to that one and tried it over and over. He even asked me to go under the table and he tried to take a photo of me while doing so but the photo was blurry because of his laughter when he saw my head coming out of the table.

While playing with my son, I was really impressed by the efforts that have been exerted to make that exhibit. I’ve noticed how everything was simple yet attractive enough to captivate kids' attention and motivate them.

  It wasn't until much later when I had realized that we didn't buy the thing we came to the mall for, the slippers! Even though, my son was very excited earlier about getting new slippers, he totally forgot about them and wanted to continue trying those scientific activities.

Ultimately, we, parents,  play a crucial role to prepare our children for a world vastly different from the one in which we grew up. However, it may be difficult for many parents to introduce science to their children through attractive activities and that's why parents should avail every opportunity that could help them in this area.That is why I’m so grateful to the clever idea of mixing shopping with learning and science with fun in a way that helps children create a growing understanding of the value of science in early age. Surely, it begins at home, but one might learn about science even when he is on his way to get new slippers!