Crosslab is a collaboration between BioArt Laboratories, the Fontys biology teacher study programme and the International School Eindhoven. Teachers in training have developed several courses about the Symbiocene. This is crosslab 4. Read about the first workshop here, the second workshop here and the third workshop here.
The students enter curiously with questioning looks about what they are going to do today. Today the students of the international school Eindhoven will learn about bioplastics. Harm and Boris first ask, “What is bioplastic?” The students look around questioningly and a few students dare to answer. But what exactly is bioplastic? Bioplastic is plastic that is made from natural materials that are biodegradable. In contrast, regular plastic is not made of biodegradable materials.
After a short explanation about what bioplastics are, the students of the international school Eindhoven will discuss how they would use bioplastics in daily life. The room is filled with whispers and lively discussions. After some consultation, good ideas have come up and you see smiles on the faces of the students.
The time has come for them to make their own bioplastics from potato starch. After a short explanation from Harm and Boris, the students can get started. The lab fills with laughter and serious looks as they weigh every ingredient. You see young lab technicians emerging who are working hard to make their own creation a success. During the hard work of the students you see Harm and Boris running back and forth through the laboratory to help them. After a while you see bioplastic form and the students proudly show their creation with smiles from ear to ear.
The young lab technicians have finished making their own bioplastic. Now they are going to do something the students have been waiting for all along. They are going to fire the seed bombs they made in crosslab 2 at their school. The students enthusiastically walk back to school with a wheelbarrow full of seed bombs ready to fire. They throw the bombs on the walls of their school with big smiles and laughter. (They also mistakenly made a teacher angry because throwing the bombs at school causes a bit of noise.) Hopefully the international school Eindhoven will soon be in bloom.