Creativity Jam: Imagine & Make

Last Friday the girls and I had the opportunity to visit the newest version of Creativity Jam at the Minnesota Children's Museum. I've shared before that I think Creativity Jam is one of the coolest things at the museum. The new Creativity Jam is no exception.

My girls would spend all day grocery shopping in Our World, and while I think that type of play is important, I also love seeing what my girls will do when the play is wide open. That's what Creativity Jam is all about.

When we first walked in to the Imagine area of Creativity Jam, it was like we were walking in to a whole new world. The white fabric and blue lighting made the room so cool. Miss A and Little J immediately disappeared inside a tent. I have no idea what was happening in the tent (as I was immediately kicked out when I tried to sneak a peek) but when Miss A came out, with lantern in hand she said, "Something's attacking the world and we have to find out what." The girls ran off, continuing to explore the room to find their answer.

A little later Miss A found some wings (and kept a tight hold on that lantern... her favorite thing there) and she and Little J transformed into fairies. They decided the red platform was fairy school. In case you're wondering, fairy school is "all about the magic!" and seems to involve a lot of running around in circles.

The thing that made the imagine space so engaging is that kids can use the space in so many different ways. My girls went from a exploring a destroyed world to being fairies within the same visit, and I can only imagine what other kids may have imagined. I'm excited to see what ideas our next visit will inspire.

After leaving the Imagine area we moved on to the Make space (located in the Curiosity Center). When we walked in each girl was given a black tray and told to pick up whatever supplies they were interested in. There were fuzzy balls, buttons, beads, string, wire, paper, tape, cupcake liners, popsicle sticks and much more. The girls made their selections and headed over to a table to get to work. 

Miss A decided to make a "guy" out of her supplies so Little J decided to do the same. We started out with regular glue, but that wasn't quite cutting it, so we moved over to an area with a hot glue gun. Miss A would show me where to put glue, then she would add the different objects. I thought their "guys" turned out great!

Little J's project

Miss A's project

I was alone with all three girls, so we didn't get into anything more advanced than the hot glue gun, but there were tool sets and a variety of building materials available too. If we go back with E or without Baby C we might have to see what we can create.

The Creativity Jam components that are featured at the Minnesota Children's Museum right now are prototype exhibits for the expansion and renovation of the Minnesota Children's Museum set to begin this fall. You can look at plans for the project here.

I'm linking up with Katie today because MCM is one of my favorites!

Full disclosure, my family and I are provided with a free membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum in exchange for being a Smart Play Ambassador.  Of course, all opinions are completely my own.