Bringing nature into the nursery

Together with the Institut für Biologiedidaktik of the University of Gießen and other experts, Dennerle has developed a 20-litre aquarium set for kids aged eight and over. It presented the set at Interzoo as the "Nano Kids Cube". The set is suitable for keeping crayfish, and brine shrimps can also be bred for use as food. This artemia breeding set is included in the complete package and contains all the accessories found in a professional set, although with the addition of an extensive variety of selected materials.Researcher's log book with instructionsThe aim is to introduce kids to fish-keeping in an easy, playful manner. They should be stimulated to observe and investigate independently. The instructions for the set have been designed as a researcher's log book, therefore, in which children can record their own observations. The texts have been formulated in a way that kids will understand and written in an amusing style. A comic character, Denny the crayfish, has been developed for the set. Denny accompanies readers through the log book and acquaints children with aquariums by way of various research topics. For example, kids are introduced to chemistry through simple measurements to determine the water quality. A step-by-step description is given of how to set up the cube, with illustrations of children setting up their aquariums by themselves. The packaging alone should encourage kids to get started on their own. The back of the insert in the cube shows a tank already set up in black and white that can be coloured in. It can then be cut out and used as a rear wall. Outlines of plants, creatures and decorative objects to cut out, colour and stick on are intended to increase the play value.It was important above all to the initiators of the "Nano Kids Cube" that it should be used not only in a child's room but also in nurseries and in the classroom. To this end, extensive educational material is being made available to nursery staff and teachers.Sales of the kids' aquarium are being supported by wide-ranging marketing activities. Dennerle stresses that it is the only nano cube to have been educationally tested as a complete package and also visually customised for children. This fact, together with the extensive range of equipment included, explains the much higher recommended retail price of € 149 compared with the JBL complete set already on the market."Artemio Kid Set" by JBLAt Interzoo, JBL presented a special children's aquarium. The "Artemio Kid…