SunPrint
Education Lab
Understanding the Learners
Young children naturally learn by touching, collecting, observing, and asking questions. Their curiosity makes everyday objects—especially plants, textures, and unusual shapes—strong starting points for creative exploration.
Why Sunprints
Sunprint turns simple observation into discovery. Children can touch, choose, and arrange ordinary natural materials, then watch sunlight transform those choices into images. The process is easy to begin, visually surprising, and open-ended enough to encourage imagination without requiring advanced art skills.
Theme of the Workshop
Our goal is to build curiosity, imagination, and a deeper appreciation for ordinary parts of the natural world. Torn, curled, spotted, or partially eaten leaves are not treated as imperfect materials, but as starting points for stories, questions, and creative ideas.
Curriculum Adaptations
Start with a Story
Children were first involved in a discussion about the story of a simple leaf, and then they imagined what happened to a torn or spotted leaf. This encourages children to use their imagination and observation skills.
Collect from Their Own Environment
Children can choose plants and natural materials from their own garden or surroundings, helping connect the activity to places they already know.
Make the Transformation Visible
Children watch the paper change in sunlight and later reveal the final image in water, turning the process itself into part of the discovery.
Our experiences
“The children after this workshop became much more interested in the plants in the kindergarten's garden.”
—— Mrs. Liu
“I liked putting the leaves on the paper and watching the picture turn blue in the sun; it feels like magic. ”
—— Six-year-old kid
