Enthusiasm without borders: 100 children experience a joint MINT festival

100 German and Dutch children, ten exciting STEM workshops and real birds of prey: at the cross-border STEM festival at Bocholter LernWerk, children explored, marvelled and learned together across all language barriers.

A total of 100 pupils aged 10 to 11, half German and half Dutch, took part in a very special cross-border STEM festival on 26 November 2026. The event was planned and organised by the Junge Uni in Bocholt (JUBoh) in cooperation with the "Euregional Education Chain (EDL)" project.

At the beginning, the mayors of the two participating cities, Christian Mangen and Anton Stapelkamp, warmly welcomed the children and emphasised the importance of cooperation across national borders. The festival then kicked off with an interactive presentation, which immediately caused amazement: a falconer presented three of the birds of prey she had brought with her. The impressive animals immediately mesmerised the young guests and ensured an energetic start.

Afterwards, the children got moving and, above all, started talking to each other while playing bingo together. The first bridges between the groups were built in a playful and casual way. After a lunch break with typical German and Dutch snacks, the participants plunged into ten varied workshops from all areas of the STEM world. Whether lightweight construction, giant insects or historical arithmetic - there was something exciting for everyone to discover.

"It was wonderful to see how naturally the children worked together in the workshops", says Jennifer Engels, Head of JUBoh. "The different languages suddenly no longer played a role when working on the topics. It is precisely moments like these that show how much we can benefit from each other here on the border - especially with regard to training and studying."

The feedback from the project partner was also extremely positive. Laura Hendrixen, school broker at EDL, emphasises: "We are grateful for the great and uncomplicated cooperation and can look back on an all-round successful day. LernWerk creates exactly the open and inspiring atmosphere that such a cross-border STEM festival needs. We are already looking forward to further joint projects."

The festival was a complete success and a living example of how well joint learning and research can work across borders. The event not only provided new professional impetus, but also strengthened the togetherness of the young participants, a real benefit for the entire Euregio.

The Euregional Education Chain (EDL) project is part of the Interreg VI Germany-Nederland programme and is co-financed by the European Union, the MWIKE NRW, the MB Niedersachsen and the provinces of Overijssel and Gelderland.