Papyrus Production
Papyrus production in class
Real papyrus strips from the land of the pharaohs
All the strips for papyrus making actually come from the land of the pharaohs, from ancient Egypt. The laying of the papyrus sheet is explained very simply in instructions with pictures and is a fascinating archaeological experience with pupils from about six years of age.
Real papyrus making
In class, the children put the papyrus strips in water. Afterwards, they diligently put them on the cotton sheets, strip by strip, until the ancient papyrus sheets are finished. Finally, they have to dry and the papyrus sheet is ready!
The strips are not available all year round, as they are best made from summer papyrus in Egypt. This gives the papyrus strips a certain softness and makes them easier to put into a form. You will receive the strips pre-sorted by size in bags so that there is no confusion. The papyrus making set comes with detailed instructions and explanatory pictures, so that even beginners can quickly and successfully achieve an effective result.
Environmental awareness
By making their own papyrus, children and young people are not only proud of themselves and their work, but also receive a positive impulse to use raw materials such as wood or plants more carefully. It is amazing what thoughts pupils can think about once they have seen through the manufacturing process and experienced it for themselves!
If you can teach not only fun and creativity but also environmental awareness through a didactically valuable product, in our eyes such a small, self-produced sheet of papyrus fulfils many very positive experiences and insights at the same time.
Papyrus in the classroom
Many schools already use this "ancient" Egyptian material for papyrus production to let their pupils experience the value of paper. The pupils experience how time-consuming it is to produce a papyrus strip of "paper" and perhaps also deal differently with paper as a raw material today, since many young people take it for granted to simply throw away half a sheet or a whole sheet, even though it could still be used as a scratch paper. Once the pupils have made their own sheet of papyrus, written on it or painted it, they will have a different understanding of and relationship to the raw material, which is often not given the appreciation it deserves in our time.
