Canoeing, Hiking, Camping, Film Studio: Steinmühle Boarding School’s Experiential Education Weekend Teaches Students How to Cope with the Unfamiliar

For one student, spending the night in a tent is a real treat. Another student has always dreamed of visiting the Babelsberg film studio. – The “Experiential Education Weekend,” held annually at the Steinmühle boarding school, once again offered students a variety of options to pursue their interests and further develop their personalities—away from their everyday lives and familiar surroundings.
The options could hardly have been more diverse: camping at Lake Eder, hiking in the Sauerland, a cultural trip to Potsdam, or a canoe trip on the Fulda River. “Everyone could choose whatever they wanted—but participation is mandatory,” explains the leadership team at Steinmühle Boarding School. The experiential education weekend is designed to allow students to spend time together in new group settings and gain new experiences.

Camping at Lake Eder: Stamina Put to the Test on Bicycles
First, we took the train to Kassel and then on to Wolfhagen. The bike ride from there to Lake Eder covered a distance of just under 40 kilometers and was quite challenging for the registered participants due to the significant elevation gain. Although the group arrived at the agreed-upon meeting point exhausted that evening, everyone was ultimately able to complete the entire route.
Freshly grilled food and some games—including “Werwolf,” which is very popular with the children—made for a pleasant evening, and everyone later fell into bed, exhausted. The next day was spent at camp. After a hearty breakfast, the day passed with many small games and sports activities, including archery, Viking chess, and swimming in Lake Eder—though the water was still quite cold, and some were out of the water faster than they’d gone in, much to the amusement of the rest of the group.
The next morning, after the tents had been taken down and the luggage stowed away, the group cycled from Lake Eder along the very beautiful and highly recommended Eder Cycle Path to Frankenberg, and from there took the train on to Marburg. Everyone was proud and relieved to have successfully completed the roughly 80-kilometer route without any significant problems and considered the weekend a complete success overall.

Hiking Through the Sauerland
For two teachers and eight students, a vacation rental in Bödefeld near Schmallenberg served as their temporary lodging while hiking through the Sauerland. The group spent the first day enjoying a barbecue together, planning their route, and playing board games. Skipbo and various card games proved to be particularly popular. The next day was all about hiking: 14 kilometers were on the itinerary. The route included two lookout points: the Kreuzberg and the Irreplatz. The latter, bathed in bright sunshine, was the perfect spot for a long break with some refreshments. In the evening, burgers and games were on the agenda. On the last day, after a leisurely breakfast, a visit to a summer toboggan run was one of the highlights of the entire trip.

Visiting Potsdam: Film Studios and Sanssouci

Well-known TV series and movies have been filmed at the Babelsberg Film Studios: *Schloss Einstein*, *GZSZ*, *Homeland*, *Counterpart*, *Berlin Station*, *The Bourne Ultimatum*, *V for Vendetta*, *The Three Musketeers*, and *The Hunger Games*—to name just a few. Getting a glimpse inside the studios was the wish of another group of boarding school students who had chosen to take a cultural trip to Potsdam. Their stay in the city just outside Berlin also included a tour of Sanssouci Palace, the former summer residence of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. They spent the night in a hostel. Filled with new experiences, the group from Steinmühle Boarding School set off on their journey home.

Canoe Trip: Getting a Feel for the Boat
The fourth boarding school group, which had chosen to go canoeing, undertook a 15-kilometer trip from Kämmerzell to Pfordt. The group of 11 students and 2 teachers got their first taste of rapids and capsizing. The program also included an evening barbecue and a cozy get-together. They spent the night in a barn in Pfordt.

“Developing Social Skills Along the Way”
The so-called “house trips” have proven successful for the Steinmühle boarding school. “It’s not just about physical activity in nature, but—from an educational perspective—about acquiring additional social skills, learning to cope with unfamiliar and new situations, and fostering holistic personal development,” says the leadership team. “It’s experiential learning in the context of holistic education.”