Kinderbaustelle St. Gallen - a success story for
four years
Since the beginning of May 2024, children can once again let off steam creatively at the St. Gallen children's construction site. On the 1600 m2 site near St. Fiden railroad station, children are busy hammering, drilling, painting, sawing and building. Debrunner Acifer AG is supporting the children's construction site for the fourth time in a row and is once again sponsoring safety equipment and building materials this year. It is also providing sun cream and giving away Mikado games to the children.
The St. Gallen children's construction site has entered its fourth season. Debrunner Acifer AG is once again sponsoring the project.
The St. Gallen children's construction site opened its doors on May 4, 2024 and entered its fourth season. As every year, children can create works of art according to their own ideas on the 1600m2 site and work to their heart's content. On the opening day, around 160 visitors came to the children's construction site, including around 70 primary school pupils, 30 kindergarten children, parents, accompanying adults and other interested parties.
The number of visitors increases every season
"Since it opened in May, an average of 50 children have been tinkering in the area every Saturday," says Samuel Roth from the Open Work with Children (OAK) department. It is part of the City of St. Gallen's Children, Youth and Family Department and is the founder of the St. Gallen children's construction site. Even in bad weather, at least 20 construction enthusiasts work on their ideas. Samuel Roth has already drawn a positive balance and is optimistic for the 2024 season: "2023 was a record year in terms of visitor numbers. This year we will break the record - at least that's what the first four days of opening suggest."
Many familiar faces and a great thirst for action
Some children are regulars at the children's construction site. "We are very happy when we welcome children from last year back. Many also visit the construction site several Saturdays during the season to realize their ideas. They really feel at home with us," says Samuel Roth happily. The children often come with a vision and are eager to get started.
A boat, a climbing wall, an airplane, two tree houses
In 2024, a number of creative structures have already been built - including a boat, a climbing wall, an airplane and two tree houses. The primary school children prefer to work with screws and try their hand at the drills. Painting and sawing are equally popular. While the older children are mainly involved in building construction work, the younger children prefer civil engineering in the sandpit. There they build canals and dams. The parents are also enthusiastic about the St. Gallen children's construction site. On the one hand, they appreciate the many opportunities for the children to be creative and, on the other, the free offer.
Between inventiveness and feasibility
At the children's construction site, children should be able to realize their creative ideas independently. Five supervisors are present on each open Saturday to answer questions and help out if necessary. "As a rule, we try to intervene as little as possible - the children should work and try things out for themselves. This is sometimes a big challenge for us adults," explains Samuel Roth. This is because adults often tend to instruct the children from the outset. However, restraint is necessary in order to give the children the chance to learn successfully. If a project is still not feasible due to its size or lack of safety, it is up to the caregivers to mediate.
Safety before enthusiasm
"As the social interface on the site, we pay attention to the children's safety and constantly evaluate whether the pupils' inventiveness is compatible with the safety regulations. We've already seen children making big plans at home that turned out to be a little too ambitious. We had to put the brakes on the children for safety reasons," says Samuel Roth. The OAK specialists are actively supported on Saturdays by a volunteer and freelancers. In addition, a community service worker helps out by accompanying the group visits outside of regular opening hours.
More group registrations
What is striking this year is the high number of groups that have booked a day at the children's construction site. Group visits are always possible on days outside the regular Saturday opening hours. "We have significantly more registrations than last year and are fully booked almost every day until the summer vacations with 24 groups," says Samuel Roth.
Expanded infrastructure for this year's children's construction site
The OAK is committed to constantly developing the infrastructure of the St. Gallen children's construction site. Because group visits have become particularly popular and it is difficult to keep track of the respective construction projects, the OAK recently set up a separate group area on the children's construction site. OAK has also optimized the children's construction site in other areas since 2021: The play and construction areas are now separated by a fence to provide better orientation for visitors and as a safety measure. There is also more seating and covered storage areas.
Sponsorship from Debrunner Acifer
Debrunner Acifer has sponsored the children's construction site since its inception. The company, headquartered in St. Gallen, provides the children and the team of supervisors on site with protective equipment, including safety goggles and ear defenders. Last year, sewer pipes were also added, which are particularly appreciated by the younger children for tunnel construction and building water pipes in the sandpit. This year, Debrunner Acifer is sponsoring wood screws, angle connectors, gloves especially in children's sizes, Mikado games and sun cream for the first time. "People tend to forget sun cream, so this is a great addition in summer. We plan to hand out the Mikado games as a 'give-away' to all the children who visit us during the summer vacations," says a delighted Samuel Roth.
Sponsored material will be used again next year
Sustainability is an important issue for OAK. Much of the material used is recycled at the end of the season so that it can be reused. Wooden planks and formwork panels, for example, are dismantled and stored for the coming year. The OAK is therefore grateful for sponsors such as Debrunner Acifer, who provide high-quality construction and safety materials for the children's construction site. Samuel Roth gives an example: "Thanks to the good quality of the protective equipment, we can reuse goggles, gloves, vests and helmets - freshly cleaned - next year. We also sort the screws for reuse at the end of the season."
