The other thing about these spots I like is the have activities anyone can come in and build for $5 for 90 mins. I know Big Brothers Big Sisters wants to have another place for Bigs to visit with their littles and we’ve talked about what that could look like. There’s also a need for Parent Making when single parents or couples with younger children can make without worrying about the kiddos. This could be kept on shelving and pulled out when needed. There also may be an opportunity to partner with Childhood development program for high school students through District 259.
It would be fun to design some … kiwi type things to make for kids. (Most of the stuff I come up with is for kids… guess I should have been a toy designer.)
I have a pattern for tic tac toe that can be run on the laser cutter… then they could be decorated for fun and maybe make a box or bag to put them in?
(i mean… with a laser cutter, how easy would it be to make paper dolls or doll houses or cars …)
Last year Art Partners applied for the Victor Murdock Grant through the Wichita Community Foundation for Generation Steam. They got into the top 6 but did not receive the funds. They did however receive $30,000 to build a community project, which I am working with them to develop now with 5 graders. They would also like to use the space this summer to build the project. Big Brothers Big Sisters has also expressed having somewhere else for their Bigs to take their littles. I would like to approach these 2 organizations to find out if they would be willing to partner on this Grant to help build out one of the dedicated classroom to facilitate their needs. This could be a class for home schools, school field trips, after school programs, summer camps, and of course our own continuing education. The grant is $60,000 and is due at the end of January, it specifies it must be a collaborative project and we already have established relationships with these organizations. If there are no objections I’d like to begin perusing this opportunity.
AFTER we get settled in our new facility, I think it would be nice to pull together project patterns and examples that are available for our youth, adults or youth groups. Supplies could be made available, payment for supplies could be handled as they are in the ceramic and wood shops. These stand alone projects or multi activity kits could expand over time. A good example is Kiwi. They do a really nice job with their different age level themed boxes. If we are inclined, there are so many wonderful things we could share with our community.