Visual storytelling workshops for researchers and primary school pupils
The Visual Storytelling project is a series of workshops for researchers and primary school pupils. They are working independently on short animated films based on PRELIFE’s research themes. This informal learning and outreach program will culminate in the PRELIFE Science Shorts Film Festival in 2030.
The program is organized by Hannie van den Bergh (Studio HB), a visual artist, award-winning filmmaker, and educator. Her work explores the intersection of art and science within the realms of new technologies and ecology. In her work, she weaves together cognitive, emotional, physical, and mythical forms of knowledge into new expressions of the imagination.
Under her guidance, complemented by mini-lectures from renowned science communicators, PhD candidates will complete two sets of four workshops. They will be given over the coming years to master visual storytelling, metaphor design, and animation techniques.
Subsequently, schoolchildren (aged 8 to 12) use the PhD candidates’ research themes as inspiration to create their own stop-motion animations during workshops at science museums. In addition, in a setting reminiscent of the well-known children’s television program ‘Achterwerk in de Kast’, the children will contribute to the ‘Golden Record of 2027’ (marking the 50th anniversary).
This collaboration results in twenty to thirty videos that will be posted on a dedicated YouTube channel. The PRELIFE Science Shorts Film Festival 2030 will take place at venues such as the Utrecht University Museum, the InScience Film Festival in Nijmegen, and the Next Nature Museum in Eindhoven.
Ultimately, both groups profit from this exchange. PhD candidates sharpen their communication skills and reflect on the role of scientists in modern society, while pupils gain hands-on production skills and a deeper understanding of origin-of-life research. Together, they spark curiosity, build mutual understanding, and demonstrate how visual storytelling can make complex scientific ideas meaningful to a broader audience.
Hannie van den Bergh – Studio HB – 17 september 2026
www.studio-hb.nl