Discovery is the name of the game at “balancity”, where explorers large and small can embark on a journey to another world. There are lots of exhibits and urban-themed projects on display for the grown-ups plus plenty for the adults of tomorrow to see, touch and smell as they take a tour of Germany using all their senses. At the German Pavilion, we’re big on fun for little people.

“Again, again”, shouts little Xiaomei with a beaming smile as she reaches the German Pavilion “Garden” at the bottom of the slide. Some of the other toddlers are still a little timid so they get to enjoy the slide sitting on the pavilion hosts’ and hostesses’ laps. From the Garden, they slide straight into a room full of products made in Germany. The official South Africa World Cup football is on display here, along with model trains, wooden bicycles, paper toys and lots more. And to make sure they don’t spend all their time with their noses squashed up against display cases, there are also things they can touch, for example, a bicycle and tractors.

In particular, balancity’s colourful Garden is full of surprises for young visitors. For instance, there’s a monitor with a hutch in front and a plastic carrot attached to it. When the children pull the carrot, rabbits hop towards the front of the hutch – virtually, on film. Right next to that there’s a gnome from the federal state of Thuringia. Not only can the children have their photo taken with his larger-than-life red hat on their heads – the hat talks and explains the importance of allotment gardens in Germany! The gnome’s a big hit and there’s another one in the pavilion entrance area, where visitors can have their photo taken in front of huge postcards, who’s also been photographed with hundreds of children.

It’s not just the little visitors who’re captivated by the rabbit hutch, Bello and the interactive games.

Towards the back of the Garden, there’s a monitor showing a dog’s kennel and next to it there’s a bell. When the children ring the bell, “Bello” the Border Collie appears on the screen and gives a welcoming bark to his audience – much to the little ones’ delight. Opposite, there are binoculars built into the wall at the children’s eye level. When they take a look through them, they see examples of natural architecture, including tree houses. Indeed, many of the exhibits are positioned at a height that children can reach. Another photo point features typical German “Karneval” masks, behind which the whole family can stand to be photographed. In the “Park”, children don’t have to scale heights in order to see the panoramic pictures of German recreational facilities on display in the viewing-bell flowers. And on the “City Square”, there are low-level seats so that small and tall people alike can sit down for a rest.  

Children are part of the action

Another special feature of the pavilion is that children can try things out themselves. “The interactive games are a major attraction for everyone and particularly interesting for the children”, says Mr LUO, who is a father himself. The “Factory” in particular has lots of new technologies on show, with which young and old can interact. “At the end of the room I discovered a scanner that you can control without any physical contact. When I tried it out, it felt as if I was operating technology from the future”, said 18-year-old Sarah Stiefel, a pupil from Berlin.

Many of the grown-ups are reminded of their own childhood when they see the “dream globes” so reminiscent of the snow shakers they used to play with. The globes are mounted on one of the walls and show pictures of historic places. In the “Urban Periphery”, there are also “touch and listen points” for the youngsters to explore. And another place with something for their ears to enjoy is the book tower, where they can listen to fairytales by the German Grimm brothers or stories about the adventures of the popular “Tigerente” (“tiger duck”) character created by German writer “Janosch”.