Summer Tinkering Camp is back! The popular day camp at reDiscover Center in West LA is looking for fun, creative, energetic people to help run our summer season. Tinkering Camp gives children the opportunity to explore their creativity using a variety of tools and upcycled materials as they progress through an exciting week of challenges, prompts, and cooperative builds. During the 2021 season, the camp will be running in a modified, socially-distanced format that includes individual workstations and tools. reDiscover is dedicated to caring for the safety of both staff and students by following LA County Guidelines and modifying activities as needed.
Compensation: $20-25/hr
Lead Facilitator Job Description
As a Lead Facilitator, you will be in charge of leading a group of up to 12 children, aged 7-12, in the use of a variety of hand and power tools according to our safety protocols. You will guide the camp group through a week-long series of activities and prompts that you design in conjunction with the Director of Programs. Additionally, you will coordinate 1-2 Assistant Facilitators to help you run the program each week. Following COVID-19 safety guidelines is required of all staff working in person. Upon hiring, you will be required to complete a Live Scan and Mandated Reporter Training.
The ideal candidate will be:
Good with kids. You can hold the attention of an audience of 8-year-olds, patiently teach one-on-one, bounce quickly between different children and projects, crack a joke, take a joke, ensure safety by tracking each child’s capacity, patience, and mood. Spanish is a plus.
Good with tools. You know your way around a wood shop, can screw together two pieces of wood, know how to get a saw to do what you want, troubleshoot a rickety joint, sketch a rough diagram.
Responsible. You show up on time or early, set up efficiently, get paperwork done without fuss, take notes, acknowledge and learn from mistakes, deploy staff to best effect and develop their skills, care for the organization as a whole.
Creative. You have or can develop a set of cool projects to build that appeal to tinkering-oriented children, can facilitate both interpersonal and design problems on the fly, are ready to implement reDiscover's failure-positive, child-led educational philosophy.
Available. Tinkering Camp runs an eleven-week summer season, June-August, plus monthly planning and training sessions through the spring, and a week of set up ahead of the start of camp. Shorter summer seasons are available to accommodate our Facilitators’ schedules.
Interested applicants will email hr@rediscovercenter.org with a cover letter, resume, and evidence of relevant awesomeness such as curricula, a video of teaching, or artist’s/maker’s portfolio.
Assistant Facilitator
Summary: Work on a team including staff and volunteers to facilitate programs for ages 7-12 that encourage creativity using power tools and sustainable materials.
Compensation: $15-20/hr
Location: Positions available at our program sites including weekday and afternoon shifts at reDiscover Center. Part time work available year-round and full time during the summer camp season.
Key Responsibilities:
● Follow Covid-19 safety guidelines required of all staff working in person.
● Facilitate child-centered creativity through open ended questions and suggestions of materials and techniques.
● Demonstrate safe and proper tool use and use of appropriate safety equipment.
● Assist the Lead Facilitator in classroom management.
● Train and assess participants’ capacity for safe tool use through group and one-on-one tutorials.
● Coordinate with other staff to match participants’ tool skills with appropriate projects.
● Inspire enthusiasm for tinkering through personal expression of the joy of making.
● Supervise warm-up and break activities.
● Coach teams of 3-5 tinkerers in design, construction, testing, and redesign.
● Monitor and address interpersonal conflicts among participants.
● Maintain a tidy workshop, efficiently set up before activities and clean up afterwards, reshelve unused materials and tools after use.
● Make periodic suggestions for organizational improvement.
● Prepare and clean the workshop and other reDiscover facilities before and after tinkering sessions.
● Report broken tools, unsafe circumstances, and injuries to senior staff immediately.
Supervised by: Director of Programs
Supervises: Volunteers
Qualifications: Experience with art, making, tinkering and/or woodworking. Public speaking skills, patience with adults and children of varying personalities and abilities, problem-solving ability, dependability. Aptitude for manual arts. Safety-oriented and able to consistently follow safe tool use protocols. Ability to lift 40 lbs. Must be able to transport four 20 gallon totes to offsite locations. Employment offers are made contingent on the results of a background check.
To apply, email a cover letter describing your interest and experience (1) working with children and (2) hands-on making (woodworking, sewing, crafting, robotics, etc.) to hr@rediscovercenter.org. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Intern Camp Facilitator
Summary: This internship provides job training, experience working directly with children in an informal education setting, and experience making, woodworking, and tinkering. Interns learn how to facilitate safe tool use and creative child-centered tinkering. Interns work on a team including staff and volunteers to facilitate Tinkering Camp, a summer camp that teaches creativity using power tools and sustainable materials for ages 5-16 (ages 7-12 only in 2021 to accommodate COVID restrictions).
Eligibility: Open to high school and college students. reDiscover can help coordinate course credit or work study funding through your school. Volunteer and paid positions available. Paid positions are $15/hour.
Dates: 5-11 weeks in the range of June - August 2021, 35 hours per week, plus 2 paid training days in May and June 2021.
Location: Internships are available at reDiscover Center and our pop-up location on the Westside of LA.
Key Responsibilities:
- Follow Covid-19 safety guidelines required of all staff working in person.
- Facilitate child-centered creativity through open ended questions and suggestions of materials and techniques.
- Demonstrate safe and proper tool use and use of appropriate safety equipment.
- Assess participants’ capacity for safe tool use through one-on-one tutorial and train participants in safe tool use.
- Communicate with staff about individual participants’ tool skills.
- Inspire enthusiasm for tinkering through personal expression of the joy of making.
- Assist the Lead Facilitator in classroom management.
- Supervise warm up and recess activities.
- Coach teams of 3-5 tinkerers through design, construction, testing, and redesign.
- Monitor and resolve interpersonal conflicts among participants.
- Maintain a clean workshop, including reshelving unused materials and tools after use.
- Report broken tools, unsafe circumstances, and injuries to senior staff immediately.
Supervised by: Lead Facilitator
Support: Interns receive two days of training ahead of the camp season. Interns participate in daily staff meetings, discussing pedagogical, maker, and interpersonal issues. Interns receive coaching from the Lead Facilitator on teaching and making skills. Interns receive shop access outside of camp hours for personal projects.
Special Project: Interns are expected to prepare and present a special project. Past projects include creating a workshop curriculum, building new apparatus for use in Tinkering Camp, reports comparing the reDiscover safety protocol to similar programs. reDiscover staff provide feedback on this report.
Qualifications: Ability to lift 25 lbs. Pleasant manner, patience with children of varying personalities and abilities, problem-solving ability, dependability. Aptitude for manual arts. Safety-oriented and able to consistently follow safe tool use protocols. Spanish language skills a plus.
To apply, email a cover letter describing your interest and experience working with children and hands-on making (woodworking, sewing, crafting, robotics, etc.) to hr@rediscovercenter.org. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
We love volunteers and have many opportunities!
If you like to roll up your sleeves and dive in, fill out the form at the link below! We'd love to have you!