A morning full of adventure: When logistics almost seems like magic
On a bright and sunny January morning, a group of nearly 20 kindergarten children from the “Kita am Schlicksweg” embarked on an extraordinary adventure. Together with Professor Moritz Petersen (KLU), they left to discover the hidden world of logistics. Their guidebook: The “Hidden Picture Book of Logistics,” which was jointly created with Germany’s federal logistics association Bundesvereinigung Logistik e.V. (BVL) and other supporters. The book’s goal: to shed some light on the world of logistics for children and adults alike, and to make the invisible, visible.
In the kindergarten’s gymnastics room, there was plenty of anticipation. Henry, Finchen, Kian, Anuk and the other children knew what was going to happen today: there would be a visit from a real-life professor – and he was going to bring with him a book that they could all look at together.
The “Hidden Picture Book of Logistics” is a children’s book that takes readers on an exciting journey through the world of logistics and supply chains. Prof. Petersen came up with the idea when he realized that there weren’t any books about logistics written for small children.
Questioning stereotypes
To get started, Professor Petersen sparked the children’s curiosity with a playful question: “What do you think a professor looks like?” Their answers: gray hair, spectacles and definitely a man. Then came the surprise: Moritz Petersen had brought along photos of four members of the KLU faculty – two male professors and two females. No gray hair, no spectacles – and of course not only men. “How you look doesn’t make any difference,” he explained to the children.
The magic of logistics
His next question proved challenging, too: What do you think logistics is? None of the children had an answer. “No problem,” he said, “even my own kids aren’t exactly sure.” But he had a simple example to help them out: what do you do when your pants are worn out and you need a new pair? Most of the time, your mommy or daddy makes a few clicks on their smartphone and just a few days later, a new pair of pants is delivered to your front door. “It’s almost like magic, right? And that’s exactly what logistics is.”
Together, they began a foray into the magical world of logistics. Time and again, the children could tug on an “invisible rope” – like a curtain at a theatre, the image they’d been looking at disappeared, making way for the next page. What future careers are there to explore? How many cargo containers can fit on just one giant transport ship? And how many people in Germany work to keep the magic of logistics up and running? The children found the answers to these and many other questions as they followed a teddy bear’s journey from an ecommerce warehouse to the arms of a waiting child, from packaging to delivery.
At the end of the presentation, every child received a mini-edition of the book to take home with them, a physical reminder of the day’s adventure in an exciting world. For the teachers, kindergarten director Tobias Frank, and the children, it had been a great voyage of discovery – even if the kids didn’t mind that there was still time left to run and jump a bit when it was over.
More information:
Discover the world of logistics - A Wimmelbook
The book is available for sale here or at your favorite book shop.
