Magic Moment

Do insects actually sleep? Or do they dream during the day – with their eyes open and their wings glistening? Where do they rest when they are tired? In a flower, between moss and blades of grass, curled up under a leaf? And what do they dream about? This workshop invites children to immerse themselves in the mysterious world of insects – and to experience it with their own eyes, hands and minds. Pictures and books from our library provide initial insights into the diverse habitats and behaviours of these animals. Based on this, the children can use paper, cardboard, paints, glue and fabric to create their own creatures – either invented or freely interpreted. 

In this workshop, we invite young children to experience lines not only with pen and paper, but with their whole bodies: with light and shadow, with their hands and with thick wire that draws a line into the room. Large sheets of paper, mirrors, coloured pencils and crayons, tactile rolls of fine thread and torches create a space full of visual and haptic stimuli that invites sensory and artistic experience, seeing, feeling and creating. The focus is not on the finished picture, but on the children's own imaginations and experiments. 

What happens when a drop of paint suddenly lands on paper? What stories do lines that form unexpectedly tell? And how do random spots turn into living creatures, plants or mysterious landscapes? This workshop focuses on experimental learning: using filled balloons and cups or flying pens, the children set colours in motion and create colourful spots, splashes and lines – sometimes large, sometimes fine, sometimes wild, sometimes delicate. These random traces become the starting point for expanded images and drawings. Figures grow out of spots, lines become leaves, wings or patterns. With coloured pencils, markers, fineliners and other drawing tools, the children give shape and depth to their image ideas. 

In this workshop, children and young people learn about the fascinating world of colours and shapes found in insects and plants, inspired by the work of well-known naturalists such as Maria Sibylla Merian and Ernst Haeckel. The starting point can be their own body rubbings, colour gradients, spots and lines created randomly by pouring and spraying. From these spontaneous patterns, the children develop their own creatures and plants, which they draw or cut out and assemble into a very personal collection. This grows over the course of the workshop and can be supplemented with texts, descriptions or stories.

90 minutes—10 euros per child
120 minutes—12 euros per child
Two accompanying participants free of charge and mandatory

Any additional accompanying persons pay the regular entrance fee of 4.00 euros per person

Groups of fewer than ten participants must pay the fee for ten participants.
We kindly ask that at least one accompanying adult also attends.
Please include younger siblings in the number of participants.
Children should please bring drinking bottles and wear clothes that can get dirty.

Included in the price

• Guided tour by an art educator during the booked event
• Engaging tour of the current exhibition
• Selected artistic workshop presented in the lab or the library
• High-quality materials
• Admission covers participants and two accompanying adults
• Opportunity to explore all areas of the venue independently before or after the educational offering
• Optional: a timeslot to experience Toshi’s Gift (only available for 120-minute sessions, weather permitting and subject to availability)

Catering can be arranged directly with the Das Altoona bistro, which is located in our building. If you wish to bring your own birthday cake, it can be enjoyed at the Altoona for a small fee. For detailed information and to reserve a table, please contact the Altoona team.

E-Mail: max@edison.at
Tel.: 0043 670 608 48 86

Bookings can be cancelled free of charge up to three days prior the booked date. If cancelled two days prior to the booked date, the cancellation fee is 50% of the total amount. Cancellations on the day of the booked date are not possible and NÖ Kulturlandeshauptstadt St.Pölten GmbH must charge a cancellation fee of 100% of the total amount.