Note: although a teams link to this session is provided, we do not recommend attending it remotely.
In an era of so-called artificial intelligence, digital twins and virtual reality, we may easily forget the power of learning by playing with physical objects. Touching things and observing real phenomena allows developing a feeling for otherwise abstract concepts such as probabilities, measurement errors and empirical relationships.
In this workshop, we will visit a wide selection of objects, games, and small experiments which we found helpful in this context.
Our workshop will be divided into three parts:
The first part, from 14h30 to 15h30, will be a seminar. We will demonstrate and analyze what we can learn from rolling dice, playing cards, dropping little balls through a maze of pins, measuring metal pieces, sending steel balls down a ramp to splash into a gutter filled with water, building and testing paper helicopters, etc.
In the second part, from 15h30 to 16h30, while enjoying a prolonged coffee break, you will have the opportunity to play and learn with these artifacts yourself. We shall set up several tables with our games and experiments and invite you to explore.
In the last part, from 16h30 to 17h, we will return to the seminar room, reflect on what we have seen, gather further ideas, and summarize the workshop.
P.S.: After the seminar, some of us might go for a beer at the Café des Halles. Feel free to join us.
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