Bootlabor
Workshop | 2018, 2025
Bootlabor, which is German for boat laboratory, was a workshop for making experimental water vehicles. Niklas and I gave the workshop in late summer 2018 in Lörrach as a part of Junior Lab's summer edition at Werkraum Schöpflin. The weather in southern Germany was hot and we thought that a water related activity could be refreshing. So we filled a huge inflatable pool and chose a very open approach to building small boats. No instructions, just lots of different materials, some examples and help. The video above is from this workshop. In 2025 we had the chance to make a new version of Bootlabor at the Periphera, which is an art and technology festival in Trafaria, Portugal. The workshop connected to Trafaria's local history of fishing culture and boats.
Junior Lab in Lörrach
The Bootlabor in Lörrach was part of Junior Lab, a program which used to offer a whole week of workshops that focussed on using technology creatively. Most of the participants were in elementary school age. As a warm-up we discussed different boat types and made science-experiments with play-dough to see which shapes float and why. For the building materials, we had created a DIY hardware store, which limited the amount of materials that could be used for a boat. This was done to ensure, not only to have enough materials for the whole week, but also to stimulate creative solutions within limits. Everyone received a budget of blue, red and yellow cardboard coins, with which one could buy items in corresponding price categories. In the most precious blue category were DC motors, 3D-printed propellers, large recycled packaging and cool plastic skulls. The more affordable items included, among other things, foamy board materials, popsicle sticks, metal rods, hose, rubber bands and chewing gum for fixing leakages. The last item was very popular, and not only for the purpose initially thought for. We also had a common recycling center, where leftovers could be donated for free use.
Since one person's budget was limited, some participants teamed up to make up a fancy motorised boat. However, some were totally happy with a simple vehicle that worked without a motor. Others focused on quantity and made as many different boats as they could, including some submarines. Some were spenders and used all the coins at once, buying also quite a bit of chewing gum, while others held on to their cardboard coins, unwilling to spend much. Two participants took financing to another level and made together a gambling machine with their leftover materials to earn more coins. All in all, lots of inventive ways to deal with the coins and boat-building emerged. The concept of the hardware store and budgeting of own projects was also addressed by many participants in our final discussion – surprising us with the level of reflection.
Workshop at Periphera
In Trafaria we gave two workshops, which were offered for people of all ages. This time many adults joined, but the workshop atmosphere was like in Lörrach, full of sparkling enthusiasm to get the boats running (without sinking). We had again a hardware store, but also plenty of cool materials that the participants bought with them. In this workshop it was really nice to get to know local makers, educators and artists visiting the festival. Had we stayed longer, we could have learned a lot about actual boat building in the wonderful coastal towns.
See also:
Thank you!
Special thanks to Lars, Meike, Junior Lab and Werkraum Schöpflin for inviting us to give the workshop. We also greatly appreciate our young helpers from Werkraum Schöpflin, who assisted the workshop participants in a caring way. For the workshop in Trafaria, we want to thank the super friendly organisers of Periphera, Carlos and Francisco, who helped us and made us feel welcome.