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Campus News - October 15, 2001 |
Wemagination turns waste to wonder
By Laurie Mellas-Ramirez
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.
Peterson
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 daughters 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 masters 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 worlds natural environment. Its
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 centers 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. Its nice when they make that connection and realize there is more to learning.
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