1. Opening circle (10 min)
Big circle: How do you feel now, what happened to you during the last week?
2. Anthill (10 min)
The facilitator initiates a conversation about anthills. Have the participants ever seen one? What do they remember? The facilitator explains that ants can move around in the anthill without touching each other even if the paths are vey narrow and there are a lot of ants. Can we move as carefully as the ants?.
The facilitator forms a big circle from chairs. Participants have to move around inside the circle without touching each other. The facilitator moves the chairs to make the space smaller and smaller. The ants cannot stop, they cannot move in a circle, but in zigzags. If somebody touches another or a chair, they are out.
3. Water bears (10 min)
Participants work in small groups. They use their tablets or smart phones to find information on tardigrades (water bears or moss piglets). These are among the most resilient animals known. The groups present their findings.
The facilitator encourages them to imagine the water bear as a character in a sci-fi movie. The groups should make up a good name for the character and describe its capabilities. Is it a positive or a negative character? The groups present their character.
4. Proportions (10 min) – rulers, paper centimetres
Participants work in small groups. Their task is to imagine that they have to explain to a kindergartener that the school microscope can enlarge things to 10, 100 and 400 times their original size. How can the demonstrate these proportions to a five-year-old? They should come up with various creative ways.
5. Microscope (15 min) – microscope, slides
Participants take turns to look into a microscope, checking out pre-prepared slides or a hair.
6. Closing circle (5 min)
What are you taking away from this workshop? What was the best/ most difficult?