Summer 2015 T4T Newsletter

This year for our daughter’s birthday we invited 40 kids and adults to the T4T warehouse.  The kids made costumes, decorated microphones, and transformed into 8 and 9 year old pop stars, thanks to the brilliance of our exceptional Viki Stathopoulos.  The kids were already familiar with the magic of T4T as our materials have been integrated into the school for some time, but the parents were awestruck.

I sometimes forget the impact our warehouse can have on people the first time they visit. I encourage you to bring friends to the warehouse for Spontaneous Creations.

And to help bring the magic to others, I am donating Spontaneous Creations experiences for 10 adults who have never been to the warehouse – email mindy@t4t.org to recommend someone to receive.

Danielle Egerer

T4T Board of Directors

We have not been wasting any time or materials at T4T this past summer. We have taken in 13,135 lbs. of material that we, the Robin Hoods of Rubbish, saved from the landfill. 11,455 lbs. went out the door and into the hands of students, teachers and artists all over the county.  One of the more exciting donations we received was the recently retired Goodyear Blimp, Spirit of America!  They generously donated a large portion of the blimp envelope, and we look forward to getting this material into the hands of teachers all over the L.A. area.

We attended the Zero Waste Conference in downtown L.A. in May that was sponsored by Mayor Garcetti’s office. The Mayor opened the two-day event with a challenge to those in attendance to keep up the good fight, and a promise to push those in his administration to consider Zero Waste a worthy challenge and a foreseeable end-goal. David Piper, the Deputy Director of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety at Los Angeles Unified School District, reported on the recycling program he is implementing with Republic Services.  We have had a hand in the design and implementation of that program as part of our partnership with Republic Services and LAUSD. Enrique Zaldivar, the Director of City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, took part in a panel and reported on the goal of 90% reduction in solid waste issued by the Mayor’s office this year. That is ambitious by anyone’s standards. This Mayor means business and we are doing our part to support his efforts.

UPS sent us a grant for $20,000 to upgrade our storage facility in the warehouse and streamline our membership process. Thank you UPS! The Annenberg Foundation honored us with a $10,000 grant for our work in the community and Metabolic Studios is supporting our Reimagined Resource Centers (RRC).  RCC is an effort to build STEAM Labs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) using up-cycled material in Title I schools.  The generous grant from the Annenberg Foundation inspired us to go even bigger – and now we hope to win $100,000 from the LA2050 Campaign, in order to build 20 more RRCs in communities across Los Angeles!  We can’t do it without your help – you’ll be able to vote for us starting October 20^th.

We have two new Board Members, Celeste Anlauf who is with Para Los Ninos and Brent Bushnell
who is one of the two founders at Two Bit Circus. Several of us will be heading to San Francisco with Two Bit Circus November 6-8th for the STEAM Carnival. Some of you will remember that event in San Pedro last fall. So, if you are in San Francisco in November, this is an event you won’t want to miss.  Check out Mindy’s report on Special Events to learn all about our second annual Teacher Appreciation Day on November 14th.

T4T is now accepting applications for STEAM Labs (Reimagined Resource Centers) from any Title I schools in the L.A. area.  These maker spaces are fantastic resources for schools and I encourage you to apply ASAP!  Click here for the application.

And regarding our future, we were approached by a great group of educators in Fresno who wanted to open T4T.org up there – and we’re moving forward with these plans! More on that soon, but why not T4T branches in any manufacturing area across this country? We get several calls a month from schools and teachers that want us in their neighborhoods.

Leah Hanes, PhD

T4T Executive Director

“Righty tighty, lefty loosey” is often whispered in situations where someone does not remember which direction the screw or nut and bolt fastens.  From engineers, to mechanics and carpenters, the adage helps save time and energy.  Yet this type of positive, useful knowledge is not conveyed in a classroom setting, but rather in a creative, hands-on environment that encourages the user to think critically.  With schools placing emphasis on computer labs where the only interaction is with the screen, the tangible requirement of creating and making is disconnected.  Children learn from making; they excel when their creativity is explored and fostered.  Through our STEAM labs, T4T creates spaces that nurture hands-on learning.  Because we use clean and safe manufacturing cast-offs, materials are affordable and don’t have a contrived outcome.  Students are free to explore and let their imagination come to light.  Teaching trade skills, such as carpentry, soldering, or sewing also gives students a respect for the jobs that so many people in our workforce have (perhaps even their parents).  Trade skills translate into problem-solving skills – and we think all kids have a lot to gain from learning how to solve problems, don’t you?  Maria Montessori once said “the hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence”, and with the appropriate tools and materials we can bring this understanding back into the classroom.

T4T is now accepting applications for STEAM Labs (Reimagined Resource Centers) from any Title I schools in the L.A. area.  These maker spaces are fantastic resources for schools and I encourage you to apply ASAP!  Click here for the application.

Isai German

STEAM Lab Coordinator

Our summer camp concluded just a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to report that it was a success!  We brought in lots of ‘new’ to the camp, including a new daily schedule (we offered a full-day option) and ‘Fun Fridays’.  Each Friday of camp showcased a guest speaker, who talked about how their job incorporates the STEAM disciplines.  Additionally, each week of camp had a theme – such as ‘Earthquakes & Structures’ or ‘Air & Space’.  The activities tied into these themes in creative ways.  For example, campers had the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of electrical circuits by designing and making tiny robotic ‘bugs’ that we called ‘buzz-bots’.  Campers had a great time racing their buzz-bots and making mazes for them to navigate.

All this ‘new stuff’ was certainly exciting, but a LOT of work!  This camp was the product of many minds and hands coming together to bring my big ideas to reality.  T4T truly is a team, and nothing would get done around here without each of us pitching in – sometimes at inopportune times.  The camp was a great example of this – I remember the week before camp started, Isai, our STEAM Lab Coordinator was ordering t-shirts for camp while Viki, our Outreach Specialist, was helping me with curriculum planning.  Meanwhile Leah, our Executive Director, was across town, delivering the final camp paperwork to the LAUSD Leasing Office!  Despite all of this work, the camp was worthwhile, as it was a hit with both kids and parents.  My favorite camp memory was on the last day of camp, when our ‘Fun Friday’ guest speaker talked about the science of ice cream, and the day culminated in the campers getting to make their own ice cream from scratch.  It was educational, and delicious.

During the last week of camp, we also had exciting things going on in our warehouse.  We once again hosted the SIG Summer Institute, which is a 3-day professional development workshop for teachers at schools that are recipients of the School Improvement Grant.  This year we were able to include elementary school teachers, so we had K-12 fully represented.  This institute was teacher-facilitated, interactive, NGSS-centric, and very hands-on.  I loved this format, and I personally think this was the best method for ensuring growth in these teachers who have made a commitment to being life-long learners.

T4T has applied for this year’s LA2050 campaign, and we hope we can count on you for votes.  The LA2050 Challenge poses the question, ‘What do you envision for the city of Los Angeles by the year 2050?” and asks community stakeholders to submit proposals for projects that will better L.A. in some small but impactful way.   The proposal with the highest number of votes in each category will win $100,000.  Voting opens up on October 20th.  You can read more about the campaign here.

T4T is proposing to build our Reimagined Resource Centers (STEAM Labs) in schools and community centers across Los Angeles.  With $100,000, we could install TWENTY of these creative spaces, which would be then used by tens of thousands of students and families each year.  We believe our Reimagined Resource Centers are a hub of inspiration for young minds and lays out a foundation of technical and design skills necessary to navigate our ever-changing world.

I hope you all had a fantastic summer, and wish you an inspiring and productive school year!

 Mindy Schwartz

Director of Creative Programming

Frank got his BS in biology and later got a degree in computer science.  He has spent years writing 3D animation software, including flight simulators, commercial and movie software, and architectural software.  He founded the Rhythm & Hues animation studio in L.A., known for movies such as Babe and Life of Pi.  After founding and working at another company for architectural animation software, he retired early to focus his time on volunteering.  As a volunteer he has worked for Habitat for Humanity, done mediation for the city, and took part in shipbuilding for Topsail (for which he sailed to South America on ships he’d helped build to scout out new lumber).  He has also spent a great deal of time teaching in schools, both during and after school – he has taught reading and math, and is currently a garden ranger teaching six classes a week on gardening, plants, and animals.  To improve his teaching, he obtained his AA in Child Development, and has taught kids from preschool to high school.  Frank found T4T on L.A. Works and was drawn by the title “Spontaneous Creations”.  He likes the way kids inspire us when they are in such an uninhibited, creative environment, and enjoys using his engineering talent to solve their problems in keeping their creations together.  He doesn’t worry about whether to let them make their own mistakes, because he doesn’t really believe there are mistakes.  Frank has been volunteering at T4T regularly and we are glad to have him!

Adam Herbst

Programming Assistant

T4T is proud to announce several exciting events coming up this fall.  Each of these events is unique, but will give you a glimpse into what makes T4T so special.  Please support us by attending one (or all!).

September 19^th – For the 2^nd time, we’ve been invited to participate in ‘Musical Café for a Cause’- a concert fundraiser put on by Chef Shafer of The Depot Restaurant in Torrance.  The concert theme is ‘A History of Rock & Roll’, and in addition to the live music under the stars, there will be café-style dining options and both live and silent auctions.  T4T benefits from both the tickets sales and auction sales, and trust me – there are some really exciting things up for bid!  Doors & dining open at 5pm, while the show starts at 7pm.  Please call us to buy your seats – $25 for general admission, $75 for VIP seating.

October 31^st – You’ve likely heard of our weekly ‘Spontaneous Creations’ open-studio, but this Halloween come to our first ever ‘Spook-taneous Creations’!  At this family friendly workshop, kids will rotate through stations where they can create a Halloween mask, decorate a trick-or-treating bag, and more.  Suggested donation is $10 per child.

November 6^th-8^th – We’ve also been invited back to the STEAM Carnival, but this time in San Francisco!  If you missed out on last year’s event, Two Bit Circus put on a fantastically fun and educational event for kids and adults of all ages.  Imagine a carnival where all the games are high-tech, all the prizes are futuristic, and all the ‘acts’ are a strange combination of engineering and entertainment.  T4T will have a booth with large-scale, interactive activities, and we can’t wait to see what else Two Bit Circus has up its sleeve.  If you find yourself in the Bay Area that weekend, please pay us a visit!

November 14th – We’re so excited to host yet another ‘Teacher Appreciation Day’ this fall!  Let’s start the school year off right by acknowledging the hard work put in by our teachers.  All T4T members are invited to attend this day of fun at our warehouse.  There will be food, face-painting, awards, guest talks, music, and activities for kids.  Sponsors needed – email mindy@t4t.org if you are or know of a potential sponsor.  This event is free, but registration is required.  Invitation to follow.