Eleventh Stop
Workshop at Kulturhuset Blå Stället · April 2026
Workshop Leaders: Leila Natsheh and Simona Cavalieri
Photo: Leila Natsheh
A Visit from Outer Space
Allen the Alien is visiting planet Earth from outer space. He would like to visit all the outdoor places and try all the activities that children love. We need to keep in mind that our ways of communication with him are limited, and it would be easier to show him all these recommendations through drawings or built structures, laid out as a map.
This is the prompt that we took with us this weekend to Kulturhuset Blå Stället during our workshop with children aged 6-13.
The biggest School playground — X, 9
Playgrounds as a First Response
Many children and their families think of playgrounds as the first place when given the framework: outdoors, free, public, accessible — by foot or public transport — and for play.
“Playgrounds” are easy to think of and explain to others, it is a response understood right away. It does not need explanations and is easy to visualize — even if verbally explaining. But there is a lot more that children do outside, which maybe is just more difficult to explain, or put into words, or is not as visible.
We always try to support our participants’ interest in playgrounds, but try to take the conversation further, into the forest, the lakes, the beach, the mountains… Where do you like to be, with who, and what do you like to do there? How do you play, rest, explore?
"A tower I want to visit" — R, 6
Constant Iterations
We are constantly iterating how we design and facilitate our workshops, and for a good reason: to try to better understand children’s perspective — and that is difficult, because we need to find the right questions to ask. Questions that don't imply certain answers and outcomes. Questions that don't lead children in a certain direction. Questions that allow for freedom of interpretation and inspire new questions to be asked.
Football, Scooters, Badminton, and Video games — T, 11
Age Gaps
Some adults think it is difficult to find places to go to in order to fulfill the needs and desires of their children of various ages.
One parent said there are very few places and activities where the whole family wants to be together. Potentially outdoors, at a park, grilling and playing.
This is a challenge for us designing Barnens Smarta Karta, how do we design a platform that supports and inspires parents and adults, who want/need to go out with children, in finding activities that fit their family constellations.
Mother-daughter day — S, 5
Dedicated Time
One child mentioned that today is her mother-daughter day. She said she loves to play “tag” with her mother, and that today they will spend the whole time together. When asked, she wasn’t sure what they will do, but the mom reminded her that they will spend some time at the culture house, then have lunch together, and then they will go to buy a toy.
Would it be possible for Barnens Smarta Kartan to support families on days like this? To provide quality suggestions of places and activities, when maybe there is the pressure of time, but the ideas on what to do are limited to what we know…
Blueberry Picking — S, 5
Recognizing Drawings
One child drew the water play equipment that is active during summer months at the playground in Angered Centrum. Every child after that recognized this drawing and knew right away what it is, despite it being somewhat abstract.
We find it very fascinating how children relate to other children's drawings of places they know. This is an opportunity for how places could be depicted on the Barnens Smarta Karta platform.
A bear's Home near the river — C, 5
Reality and Fantasy
Since Allen the Alien is visualized through a three-dimensional cardboard construction and not described with words as a character, some children assign characteristics to him. They talk and wonder about how he would behave or act in certain situations that they imagine, what he would like to do, his age, and a lot more about who Allen is.
At every workshop so far we have confirmed how important storytelling is for children, and how intertwined their fantasy world is with reality. When asked about a real-life question, they bring fantasy into their answer, and the two worlds complement one another.
"There is a bear in the forest...” — C, 5
Would you like to join us next time?