Young minds have a distinct advantage: their minds are flexible in a way that adult minds aren’t. They have great capacity for imagining wild combinations, they’re open to learning new things (it is their full-time job, after all), and they are capable of extremely inventive solutions. With this in mind, have your young tinkerers...
Part of the magic of reDiscover Center is that you never know exactly what materials might be waiting for you to explore! Facilitator Caitlin Dobbin found an empty coffee canister, tongue depressor, bottle caps, beads, yarn, lanyard, twine, burlap, straws, film negatives, moveable sign letters, puzzle pieces, metal clips and cardboard rings and, with...
What exactly is tinkering? A question we often get asked at reDiscover Center. Our response? Tinkering is more than just making things. It’s experimenting, letting your creativity loose, letting yourself fail and learning from the experience. Tinkering is a way of expanding your mind and your conceptions about what can be done, and more...
This is the second installment of mask-making here at reDiscover Center! Today we are looking at helmet masks: a simple way of wearing a mask that keeps whatever you have created securely attached to your head. The base material to work with is cardboard (a personal favorite). Start by cutting out the shape of...
The holidays are here! Now is a great time to make a gift for someone on your list. Here at reDiscover Center we have created some very cute reindeer for the season with simple tinkering skills. The reindeer’s body and head are both made from cylinder-shaped pieces of wood that were cut down to...
Have you ever dreamed of a car that is also a house? A car that can fly? A car that is also a boat? Well look no further! At reDiscover Center this can become a reality. The basic principle of making a toy car is simple. As long as you have two axles underneath...
Turkey Time is upon us all! Regardless of your food preferences around Thanksgiving, a turkey centerpiece is a great, festive way to add some fun flair to your celebration. Our own holiday centerpiece was made almost entirely from wood scraps–another great tinkering project to come make at reDiscover Center. The neck of the turkey...
Based on the traditional folded tissue or crepe paper method, this flower was made using donated Mylar sheeting (a factory overrun) and a pipe cleaner. Repurpose almost any kind of pliable sheeting to create decorative flowers for parties and celebrations. STEP 1 Cut and stack multiple pieces of rectangular shaped sheeting. The bigger the...
Repurpose paper scraps, fabric and yarn to create your own personal journal or sketchbook. All you need is some stationery, card stock or construction paper, fabric, yarn, a hole punch and scissors. STEP 1 Cut and stack multiple rectangular shaped sheets of paper. Used here are 8.5” x 11” pieces of stationary and one...
Create a spooky mask! Masks can be made with recycled materials like cardboard, egg cartons and bottle caps. And they look great! The mask pictured was inspired by the Sand Worm monster in the movie Beetlejuice. It’s “skin” is made out of egg cartons. Its eyes are made out of jar lids, with beads...