Children are getting exposed to all manner of learning and scientific activities at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2023), on until this weekend at Expo Centre, and receiving a practical education in the process. At the event’s Hand Making Workshop, students aged between mostly 8 and 11, were instructed in the art of building their own mini-garden ecosystem by making a terrarium.

Kids were handed gloves, a glass bowl, a potted succulent, and plenty of potting soil on a tray, to work with. They were then instructed to remove the plant carefully, keeping the soil around it intact, and repot in the glass terrarium bowl, without causing damage to the plant or its roots. A touch of decoration was added to the little garden, using small white pebbles to add a touch of contrast and as an appealing visual layer between the succulent and the black soil.

“The idea is to basically create a little plant ecosystem in a glass jar, with some ‘landscaping’ thrown in by way of the pebbles,” said S. AlMuhairi, workshop instructor. “If we had more time on the schedule, the children would have been able to create their own art on the glass bowls as well. This activity is something they can easily replicate at home.”

As all the layers are visible in a glass terrarium, various media can be used to add a visual, appealing design, such as coloured sand, moss or pebbles, she said.

Durga, an 8-year-old student from Millennium School and a workshop participant, said: “This was a really fun as well as learning activity to do. We learnt that making a terrarium is not like filling a traditional flower pot. They are more like mini glasshouses. As terrariums have no drainage holes for the water, the pebbles are used to create a layer to absorb the excess moisture, so that the roots don’t rot from the extra water. It is also important to protect them from being exposed to too much sunlight.”