The skeleton- In Progress

Daily Mail Article

6 weeks to build children’s dreams

By Kyle Adams Hudson-Catskill Newspapers | Posted: Tuesday, May 7, 2013 1:15 am

CATSKILL — A new program at the Catskill Community Center is aiming to help children “build their dreams” over the next six weeks.

The Design, Build, Play program, which began last Friday, will let children design a play space in the Community Center, starting with drawings, continuing through wood and clay models, and culminating in actual construction in a two-day community build.

Laura Anderson, director of after school activities at the Community Center, who’s organizing the program with sculptor and artist Matt Bua, said the idea was to let the children “design their own play space that would be more than just blocks and toys, but could be an actual structure inside that they could use.”

In six Friday workshops, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., children from ages six to 12 will brainstorm and design the play space of their dreams. They’ll study other landmark play spaces like those in the City Museum in St. Louis and the Playground at the Queens Hall of Science in New York City and learn basic drawing and modeling skills. Volunteers will help guide the process and teach the necessary skills.

“The exciting part is that we’re really going to let the kids come up with the design,” said Anderson. “We’re going to let them take the lead.”

The final build will take place on June 15 and 16, when children — depending on age and maturity level — along with parents and volunteers will take up tools and bring the dream to life. They’ll learn to work with wood, cardboard, rope and paint, as well as simple hand tools like hand drills and screwdrivers.

The resulting “collaborative sculptural masterpiece,” as a press release puts it, will “serve as the raw material for the inventive play of the youngsters in the Catskill Community Center’s array of youth programs and as an inspirational backdrop to community events.”

Anderson said the final product will be a much-needed indoor playground for Catskill’s kids.

“I was noticing that the kids love imaginative play and fantasy play and I was dreaming of giving them more raw material to work with,” said Anderson. “And I’ve talked to a lot of parents who say there’s a real need in this area to have a place other than McDonald’s to go to in the winter for the kids to play.”

Anderson said while she acts as an educator, Bua — who built the giant wooden cat statue on Bridge Street — will be the artist and builder behind the project.

About 10 children are already on board, as well as a handful of volunteers. But Anderson said registration is still open and volunteers are always welcome, even if it’s only for a day or two. Volunteers need no special skills except the willingness to act as “mentors and collaborators” with the children — though Anderson said anyone with particular skill in drawing or design is invited to help teach.

The whole program is made possible by a $2,600 grant from the Greene County Council on the Arts, said Anderson.

While kids will learn some specific skills like design and modeling, Anderson has loftier ambitions, as well.

“Hopefully, they’ll get a sense that their dreams, their designs, they can really create that in the world,” she said.

The process of dreaming something up and then creating it in real life, she hopes, will “help them feel empowered in their lives to build their dreams.”

Anyone interested in participating is encouraged to contact Anderson at 570-560-0463 or lalarky@gmail.com. Visitwww.designbuildplay.blogspot.com for updates..

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To reach reporter Kyle Adams, call 518-943-2100, ext. 3323, or e-mail kadams@thedailymail.net.