Campus News - October 15, 2001

Wemagination turns waste to wonder

By Laurie Mellas-Ramirez

Amy Peterson“I hear you have cool stuff,” quips a man wandering into the UNM Wemagination Center, 4010 Copper NE.

Program Coordinator Amy Peterson laughs knowingly. News of the center – a special project of the College of Education Family Development Program – is spread “word of mouth.”

A unique partnership between business, education and the community, Wemagination promotes hands-on, play-based learning through the creative reuse of recyclable materials.

“The ‘We’ is open to any adult in the state who works with children,” Peterson says, adding that the center is fast becoming a favorite haunt for parents, pre-kindergarten, elementary and middle school teachers, grandparents and scout leaders.

At the New Mexico State FairPeterson gleefully guides the visitor to a roomful of plastic bins filled with rejects, overruns, samples, discontinued and surplus items donated from a national network of businesses. She explains to him that the only thing standing between artists and the brightly colored objects is an evocative, two-hour orientation “play experience.”

“Children learn best by constructing their own knowledge. We afford adults the same opportunity,” she says.

Fees are minimal for access to the vast array of materials, which are used to engage children in the process of learning – from math equations to literacy lessons.

A transplant from Chicago, Peterson was recruited to New Mexico five years ago by Family Development Program staff Michael LaFlamme to help launch Wemagination.

A former teacher, she says, “Thirteen years ago, I decided I could potentially reach more people via a reusable resource center than in a classroom.”

The self-proclaimed “dumpster diva,” fingers the plastic caps and foam core tidbits she fondly refers to as “junk,” reporting that her Dad, who worried about his daughter’s fascination with garbage, was just happy she accepted a paid position. Another plus – UNM employment offered her the chance to pursue a graduate degree with tuition remission. Peterson completes her master’s in elementary education with an emphasis in early childhood multicultural education in the spring.

“I asked if I could get it in junk and they said ‘no,’” she says.

A founding member of the national Reusable Resources Association, Peterson is serious about improving the world’s natural environment. “It’s a win-win. The businesses love giving the stuff and the participants love reusing it,” she says.

Peterson says a common misconception is that the center’s audience is preschoolers. “The materials can be used from birth to age 99,” she says, recalling a story about a group of high school students from a local community center. “The student who came in with the biggest attitude was the one who later said ‘I would want to go to school if my classes were like this.’ It’s nice when they make that connection and realize there is more to learning.”

The University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
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