Ninth Stop
Workshop at Opaltorgets Bibliotek · March 2026
Workshop Leaders: Leila Natsheh and Simona Cavalieri
Workshop Assistant: Priyadarshini Chilaka
Workshop Assistant: Priyadarshini Chilaka
Photo: Leila Natsheh
Based on our previous workshop, we have adjusted this iteration of mapping children’s favorite places and things to do.
We started with a prop — a message from Allen the Alien from a far away planet. Allen wants to visit planet Earth and wants to know what places they should check out, explore and experience.
At this workshop we did not have a map of an area, but encouraged the children to map out their favorite places by either choosing from a set of printed out photographs of outdoor places, or drawing places of their own that they would like to show Allen.
Children engaged with this activity more easily than with our previous workshop because of a few design iterations we made. We added a prop and a bit of storytelling leading to the activity. We had photographs of actual places not simplified icons to represent places. We used emoticons and facial expressions to describe feelings tied to places on the map instead of words. These small adjustments helped the children better relate to the activity and understand the task.
Photo: Leila Natsheh
”I love rainbows, so I will add one to the map!” — N, 4
Map of Changing Things
Maps do not need to only have places that consistently exist, they could have places that constantly change because of external factors, such as weather. Weather maps, in fact, are constantly changing.
Weather has always been a an element we wanted to explore and potentially include on the map. A feature where based on the weather, users are recommended different places. Some places only exist when it is snowing. And maybe even a simple ”It is raining and is sunny, look out for rainbows!” could be intriguing for some.
Photo: Leila Natsheh
One addition to the map proposed by two children collaborating was to include a recipe of how to make slush with snow, to be eaten on snowy days. Having the possibility for users to add recommendations of activities based on places could be a really thoughtful feature on the final product.
“There is a tree at my school that I like to climb. Not all trees can be easily climbed, that one is a good one.” — M, 8
Exactly the kind of spaces we are interested in exploring with children for Barnens Smarta Karta. Places that are special for a reason only some know, but would not mind sharing with others. Places that are outdoors, free, and easy to access and reach. Places that are at the moment not included on conventional maps, and would encourage more children and their families to explore their surroundings and discover things they have not noticed before.
Would you like to join us next time?