Building Kids Dreams: From Maker Space to Play Space

GTECH’s Green Playces initiative closes the gap between the lack of environmental education and access to safe, vibrant green spaces for youth who live in close proximity to blighted, vacant land by transforming vacant lots into meaningful outdoor making and learning spaces for STEM education and eco-literacy curriculum (see Green Playces in action). We do this by transforming vacant lots in close proximity to youth facilities into kid-designed green spaces. The sites include outdoor classrooms, outdoor kitchens, or play spaces incorporating green infrastructure based on community input and design.

On June 22nd, GTECH celebrated Green Playces with seventy six Makers, Movers, and Shakers at the event Makerspaces & Playces. We had a fun night of cocktails and laser cutters at the TechShop to build some of the kid-designed features for Green Playces.  Attendees enjoyed small bites, engaged in maker-centered games, and interacted with tool demonstrations.

Before and after the event we hosted a series of design charettes with youth to capture their ideas for green spaces.

Using the TechShop’s “big tools” we laser cut paver stones with some of the kids designs to install onto Green Playces.  At the event guests got to dedicate stones with an inspirational quote and watch the quotes being laser etched in real time.  This fall we will be installing the custom paver stones on Green Playce sites.

Thank you to the following sponsors who supported Green Playces through this event.