LAI kids learn about waste and circular economy

Thank you, so much, for making this dream workshop possible. It was the first of its kind at our Laboratory for Integrated Arts. Really, such a fun, ambitious and creative endeavor would not have been possible without the participation of our partner organizations.

To engage our students with the topic of a circular economy we designed a circuit of six different stations, that included watching, thinking, learning, and making to approach the concept from different angles. At the end of the day, as we sat on the garden steps after each student received their very own stuffed animal made out of recycled textiles.

The 6 stations were:

1. Ear to the nose: with @fundacionlepo, a very talented group of storytellers, they traveled into our theater box to see the stories of these stuffed animals come to life. They learned how Pepe Pancho and Ela were born .

2. The Gusartón: they took advantage of the cardboard tubes that were collected in their homes to assemble a giant multicolor worm sculpture , in a workshop designed and led by @srhoja. They also gave them a short talk about “creative recycling” and taking advantage of unused materials they may find every day.

3. Divertiengrudo: they learned how to make their own recycled paper using water, a blender and paper that they had already used. Afterwards, they wrote the values they most appreciate from their friends on recycled paper.

4. The wonder of biodiversity: they learned about the variety of animals and plants we have in Venezuela with our friends from @provita_ong.

5. Circular Memory: with a memory game consisting of jumbo-sized cards, handmade by @vancampi, they learned that things can be repaired and reused instead of discarded, creating a cycle .

6. Ecomania: they assembled toy cars out of recycled plastic caps, chopsticks and subway tickets.

At the end of the day we sat on the garden steps, and after receiving their stuffed animals, a few of them explained how a jacket can be turned into the toy they held in their hands. We learned and played and reframed. After polling several of the students' moms, we find that they do remember the story, and do have a different consideration of what can be done before putting something in the trash.

On behalf of all of us at the Integrated Arts Center, our most sincere thanks to you for believing in and supporting this activity.