Gallery
foto: Kacper Kowalczyk
Experiment overview
An interactive educational exhibit presented at the annual Science Picnic, designed to introduce the concept of Digital Ecology through hands-on, age-responsive experiences.
The initiative translated abstract technological and environmental concepts into tangible learning opportunities, using play, competition, and dialogue as tools for engagement. By creating parallel entry points for children, teenagers, and adults, the project enabled a shared learning space where technology became a connector rather than a divider between generations.
Satrategic objectives
The project aimed to make digital ecology accessible and engaging across age groups through carefully designed activities:
☀︎ Introducing children to technology through creative expression by transforming motherboard components into artistic resin collages
☀︎ Challenging teenagers with competitive computer disassembly and reassembly races to build practical skills and confidence
☀︎ Facilitating open conversations with adults around the environmental impact, history, and future implications of technological development
☀︎ Encouraging intergenerational dialogue as an essential element of technological literacy
Achieved results
The exhibit successfully generated meaningful engagement with technology across multiple generations.
Children gained familiarity with computer components through tactile play and artistic experimentation, reframing electronic waste as a material of creativity rather than danger. Teenagers embraced the competitive element, demonstrating enthusiasm for technical problem-solving and skill acquisition. Adults entered reflective discussions around the ethics, history, and ecological consequences of digital progress.
Importantly, the space fostered spontaneous intergenerational exchanges. Older participants shared stories of early computerisation in workplaces, calculators replacing mental arithmetic, and the initial fear surrounding emerging technologies, offering younger attendees valuable historical context and emotional continuity.
Main reflection
This experiment demonstrated that effective technological education must adapt to generational perspectives while simultaneously creating opportunities for these perspectives to intersect.
Children’s instinctive engagement with electronic components as artistic media revealed how early positive relationships with technology can be cultivated through creativity rather than intimidation.
A senior participant’s story of verifying calculator results by hand mirrored today’s hesitancy toward artificial intelligence, illustrating that cycles of technological distrust and adaptation repeat throughout history.
This realization suggests that understanding past patterns of technological adoption may help us navigate current transitions with greater awareness and empathy. Just as earlier generations learned to trust calculators and computers, today’s digital natives may one day reflect on our cautious approach to AI with similar curiosity.
The Science Picnic ultimately proved that when technology is framed as a shared cultural experience rather than an isolated technical domain, it can become a powerful tool for connection, critical thinking, and collective learning.