Our visit to ReDiscover was actually prompted by the fact that I finally convinced my husband that we no longer needed his AYSO soccer trophies from 1982. After calling around I found that ReDiscover would accept the box of trophies as a donation. So, after lovingly photographing all of the trophies, on Saturday morning we headed over to ReDiscover to drop them off and decided to stay and make some art.
The amount of materials in the warehouse was a bit overwhelming. Bins and bins of fabric samples, plastic do-dads, wall-paper, ribbon, ceramic tile, wires, buttons, etc. The staff person gave us a quick tour and while pointing out the boxes of wood scraps suggested to Baby M that they might be good for making a roller coaster. From that point on Baby M was set on constructing a roller coaster. And not just any roller coaster, a "very scary roller coaster." So we helped him glue pieces of wood together and decorate it with stickers, fabric, beads, etc. Ultimately we only took home a small section of the roller coaster, because we just couldn't manage taking home all 6 feet of his masterpiece. We were there for a little under 2 hours and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. While we were working, several adult artists came in to pick up materials for their professional projects as well as a few other preschoolers and a 10 year old who was building an X-ray machine for a school project. The mood was festive and cooperative and we never felt crowded.
Baby M is 32 months old and I don't think I would take a child much younger than this to the drop-in art at ReDiscover. The area is not child proofed-- there are lots of potential choking hazards, a hot glue gun within easy reach and many of the materials requires the use of wood glue or wires. This is not a place you go for your basic crayons, glue and poster paint art project. But for preschoolers and older kids ReDiscover is a great chance for them to explore new materials, express their creativity and learn about recycling.
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