Sponsorship award - Hanna vom Kolle daycare center (Berlin)

2020 | Preschool Incentive Award | Winners 

"Fostering scientific thinking in children from an early age, using both digital and analog media, is at the heart of the daycare center’s educational approach."

Here’s what the expert jury on childcare centers had to say: At the Hanna vom Kolle childcare center in Berlin, children ages four and up engage in science projects that incorporate digital media. Tablets and digital microscopes are used in a project-based approach, with the goal of helping the children observe the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies. To kick things off, a book was read aloud, and the children also created drawings and took photos. When questions arose, the children used the search engines “BLINDEKUH” and “FragFinn.” This combination of various analog and digital tools is modern, exciting, and has strengthened the children’s various skills, such as observing, listening, speaking, sharing knowledge, and taking responsibility. Projects like these are a great enrichment and digital learning experience for every child. The project is supported by multimedia educational resources in the truest sense of the word; the children’s experiences are reflected upon and discussed verbally in small group discussions. Even during the daycare center’s closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project continued: the caterpillars were sent home with the children, and parents were instructed so that they could continue the project together with their children, with or without digital media. In this way, the daycare center follows the concept of early enrichment in STEM subjects and also uses digital media to facilitate digitally networked learning.