***Stop Press: tonights group is cancelled (14th March 2012) due to room double booking. Sorry for any inconvenience.***
The aim behind Leonardo’s Den is to set up a (non profit making) group where children and their families can get together to make, invent, explore and create in an open ended, non-directed way.
Our sessions run on Wednesday evenings from 5.30pm – 7.30pm at the Gregson Centre, Lancaster. Why not come along and join in the fun?
Our aim is to provide a space, tools and materials for children to explore and direct their own ideas and projects with the focus being on the process not the product.
We hope to foster curiosity, discovery and experimentation in an atmosphere of fun, acceptance and support.
We were originally inspired, to set something up in Lancaster, by these two organisations
Leonardo’s Basement
Tinker school
Initially the group will be unfunded and informal. Parents will take responsibility for their own children during the sessions and will stay with them. There will be a small charge to cover room and equipment costs. We aim to keep this as low as possible.
We plan to start out small and increase our supplies and activity as the group expands.
Eventually we plan to have our own space with the ability to store materials and ongoing projects. To start with we will hire a suitable room for each session.
We will offer the use of tools and materials for open ended use. We will also display some completed projects, to spark imagination and ideas, and we will have some challenges available for those who want to take part. These challenges will be non competetive and along the lines of “using only x.y and z can you create something that will do ………..”
Would you like to get involved or donate materials?
We would love to hear from families who are interested in being part of Leonardo’s Den. Here are our contact details.
We would also be grateful for donations of any materials/ tools. This could be anything from plastic bottle lids and margarine tubs to low melt glue guns and small motors and including paint, brushes, needles, old CDS’s, crocodile clips – well you get the picture!
Please get in touch if you have anything you would be happy to offer us.
Finally, If you are interested in the project, passionate about creativity and curiosity, but do not have children to bring along, we would also welcome some people to help facilitate and support activities. This would be informal and would require a commitment to non- directive, child led exploration rather than fixed outcomes/ processes. If that interests you please talk to us.
That’s all for now!
