We welcome children of all ages to join us for #rp15 – and parents and guardians as well! Several sessions, esp. at the GIG Makerspace, are equally exciting for young and old. Come and discover the kids spaces!

re:play

Our re:play area offers everything a child desires: we have toys, a book corner, arts and crafts and of course, our sponsored Legos! Our partner Coworking Toddler isn’t just providing us with toys and furniture, but is also going to build a play cave with the children, so come one and all and join in! There will be at least one representative present from Coworking Toddler on all 3 days between 10 am and 4 pm.

On Wednesday, day 2 of #rp15, German Astronaut and Geophysicist, Alexander Gerst will be doing  a talk at 3 pm on Stage 1 (STG-1). We are reserving seats for children and teenagers along with their guardians in the front row. In preparation for the session and Mr. Gerst’s re:publica visit, we will offer an arts and crafts hour for children up to 7 years in our re:play area, from 2 to 3 pm on Wednesday. We will be building shuttle rockets and will have a little reading and education session about astronauts, space and space travel.

re:lax (next to Stage T)

Our relaxation room, re:lax, will be a quiet haven for R&R. Coworking Toddler and our re:publica Team will be creating a comfortable and rejuvenating space for all our guests. So come and refresh yourselves for all that re:publica has to offer!

take:off (Backyard)

In the courtyard behind the Jazzbar and accreditation counters, there will be a small ball pit for children between 0 and 4 years old, picnic tables, street chalk and bubbles for all!

We are also happy to announce that trial&error will be offering upcycling activities at take:off for the young and the young at heart! Among others, trial&error will be creating play airplanes out of recycled materials for the first two days at re:publica. If you are not into building, perhaps you’d like to  join in for the decoration of our planes!

GIG Makerspace (PB01)

Children are always welcome to explore and join in the many sessions and builds at the yearly GIG Makerspace. Here we also offer Sessions for children ages 8 and up (adults are always welcome!): 

"Kids can be hackers too" – Wednesday, May 6th, at 12:30 pm
Building electronic devices and programming hardware has become easier and easier. Through kits designed and put together especially for children and teachers, such as the StartHardware kit, even kids as young as 8 years can learn the basics of electronics and programming, build their own simple devices and become critical creators instead of only consumers. This workshop provides an easy introduction by guiding young participants through the process of building a digital pet.

Paper Origami – Thursday, May 7th, at 12:30 pm
" Prototype Origami” is a workshop four young and old in which you learn how to bring an abstract idea to life by creating amazing paper prototypes. Just bring your idea and we will show you how to get the essence out of it, how to communicate it in an easy way, create an example that helps you and others understand it better and show you how you create amazing prototypes out of it – using not much more than paper. The result can be a prototype for an idea on how to fix your Kiez or Kita, an app, a website or anything else you want to create. So get your ideas out of the drawer and bring them to life!

But there are many more exciting child friendly workshops:

"The Joule Thief“ – Tuesday, May 5th at 4:30 pm
Children learn how to use simple electrical circuits to extract the last bits of energy out of batteries.

"Digital Graffiti" – Wednesday, May 6th at 7:15 pm
Using simplest technology, namely, LED Throwies, a lithium battery, an LED light and a rare-earth magnet taped together to create luminous words.

"Fresh Music For Rotten Vegetables" – Thursday, May 7th at 3 pm
We’re making music out of rotten vegetables! Amazing!

Disclaimer: The GIG Makerspace is only suitable for ages 8 and up, as there are many small parts and tools in use at all times. re:publica is not offering a day care service, all children must be supervised by their parents or caregivers.

// photo credit: Crosa "Bällebad" (CC BY 2.0)