How does drinking water get into the house? Why is it so important for us humans? And how is it produced in the first place? Fabius, the mascot of Stadtwerke Gießen, and Ichmael the clown will be answering these and many other questions in future. They will be performing an educational and entertaining theatre play at primary schools in Giessen and the surrounding area. Afterwards, the children re-enact the water cycle. The extraordinary visit ends with a quiz in which the primary school pupils can test their new knowledge.
"Wherever he appears, our Fabius goes down very well - especially with children," explains Ina Weller, company spokesperson for Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). "So what could be more obvious than to send the cuddly dragon to primary schools and have him convey important content?" The cooperation with the artist, who has always breathed life into Fabius, is nothing new. Michael Rogalla has been working with the SWG for many years. Among other things, as the clown Ichmael, who teaches children about drinking water at the Queckborn waterworks. Michael Rogalla is also slipping into the role of Ichmael for SWG's new primary school project. His wife Jeanette dons the bright red dragon costume. "This gives Fabius a counterpart, which opens up many more possibilities," explains Ina Weller. Fabius would also find it difficult to impart knowledge on his own. "Unlike in the comic in the customer magazine elahn, the living character Fabius never speaks," explains Michael Rogalla, who played a key role in developing the programme.
Primary schools can apply
Over the next few weeks, all primary schools in Giessen and the surrounding area will receive a letter in which SWG will draw attention to its new offer, describe how the programme works and what content is conveyed. In the first year, ten primary schools will be able to enjoy two eventful hours with Fabius and Ichmael - free of charge, of course.
"We know from our test runs that our current drinking water programme is well received by both schoolchildren and teachers," explains Ina Weller. "That's why we expect demand to be brisk." Sabine Roßkopf-Hollnagel from the August-Hermann-Francke-Schule in Giessen has accompanied an initial test run at her school. She is impressed by the new SWG school project: "The presentation is suitable for children - funny and educational at the same time. Theatre like this, in which the children can take part themselves, satisfy their urge to move and then put what they have learned to the test, is an excellent addition to subject lessons," says the teacher.
Precisely planned
To ensure that everything runs smoothly, Fabius and Ichmael's visit consists of two parts. All the children watch the play "The sun only cooks with water" together. After the break, however, only the pupils in years three and four return for the second part. "This is how we ensure that the content reaches the intended audience," explains Ina Weller.
However, the current programme is just the beginning. "We will soon begin to develop comparable programmes for the topics of electricity and heat," announces Ina Weller, promising that these future events will meet the same high educational standards. "Our goal is clearly formulated: We want to explain to young children how important it is to use limited resources sparingly and thus sow the seeds for them to act responsibly as adults," summarises Ina Weller.