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2 min.
From last Saturday October 29th, until coming Saturday November 5th, it is Children’s Book Week in Curacao! This year with a very relatable theme, ‘Gi-ga-groen’ in Dutch or ‘Bi-ba-bèrdè’ in Papiamentu. Loosely translated to English it means “very green”. Each year the Children’s Book Week is being organized to inspire children to read (more) and to inspire parents to support their children with reading books.
This year’s theme revolves around nature and how we must treat its wonders. Apart from reading books about animals and nature, children are being motivated to go outside and play, instead of staying inside and watch their phones, tablets and gaming devices. Consequently, another topic that is getting a lot of attention in Curacao this week, is what plastic does to our ecological system and how to deal with it. (As we were researching the R’s of coping with plastic at Future Islands, we even got up to 7! Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Re-choose, Repair, Reuse and lastly Recycle, as found on the webpage of The Oceanpreneur).
Awareness activities for children
Yesterday at Mensing’s Caminada, during one of the activities organized for the Children’s Book Week, they combined science with creating awareness for plastic pollution. The children were able to watch an experiment take place and then redo it themselves.
First, the children were asked to draw a bone on a Styrofoam plate (polystyrene plastic) and cut it out. Next, to make it more appealing for the youngsters and for protection, they got to wear an apron, a face mask and gloves. They then were asked to put their polystyrene bone in a glass container with pure acetone in it and to watch what would happen with the plastic.
Even though this specific type of plastic is not being collected and recycled on a large scale (yet), the children were made aware of the fact that the plastic would not dissolve completely. They were amazed by the result and apart from having fun, they got to take a close look at the plastic gluelike consistency that remained. This was a perfect time to ask the children whether they believed if this substance belonged in nature surrounding us. Obviously, the unanimous answer was “No!”.
For the schedule of the remaining activities for this year’s Children’s Book Week at Mensing’s Caminada, check out their Facebook page or visit one of the bookstores in Curacao to find out what books are perfect for children to create awareness about nature.
Written by Thyrza Piëst
