Curiosity Gym is where you can walk in and use your creativity the way you want

Curiosity Gym Fort IndoorsImagine a place where you walk in to exercise the muscles of your imagination Because that is exactly what Curiosity Gym is all about a place for people of all ages to walk in and allow for the sparking of ones own curiosity through applied learning tinkering prototyping or creating I enrol my 11yearold son and myself for a 3D Doodling workshop at the SoBo space and walk in early so that I can soak in the space assess it and mess around because no one here knows Im here to review the placeCG is located on a single floor with narrow rooms where each room is called a lab The interiors are edged with a long desk and chairs and implements that you can work with Theres nothing fancy here yet if you look closely there are prototypes models rudimentary batteries brokendown clocks rods hooks nets wires balls bottles and objects that I have no names for So if you have a science project you are keen to work on or if you wish to design solutions involving problemsolving or if you simply want to fiddle around with a collection of assorted raw material this is the place to head toWe spot a sevenyearold and his mother working together to create a motioncensored lighting system They are deep in conversation with a bespectacled man and no one looks up as I walk in It is apparent that at CG you can walk in and do whatever you want There are mdash what they call mentors mdash who will step in only if you wish to brainstorm or ask for help I eavesdrop on the mothersonmentor conversation and learn that the little fellow has been here before and simply loved his time at CG and has decided to visit again We are ready to attend the workshop and in a bit more people walk in We sit around a longish centretable on which assorted things have been assembled in a heap There is a sheaf of tracing paper a largish pentypeobject and long colourful plasticlooking noodly thingsWe are introduced to a team of mentors who will handhold us through 3D Doodling The session begins as a mentor shows us how to insert these plasticy noodle thingies into the largishpen thing that seems to be connected to an electric circuit An hour of deep concentration and Im holding a cup that I have drawn out of thin air along with a tribal face mask The car reindeer and butterfly that I chose to start with will never be my pride and joy so I allow them to be taken away My son and two other boys have decided to create phone covers for their phones and yet another participant has made a beautiful dreamcatcher mdash all out of thin air No matter what weve done the air is full of jubilation Of course 3D Doodling is not pathbreaking but I can see how fascinating this space can be for children and anyone who wants to create implement a solution optimise a remedy or even lug something they have worked on and have perhaps hit a roadblock Because Curiosity Gym is just that it is a shared learning environment where anyone can walk in play around break remake design or just be So coolSafety tipThere are mentors always around to help keep the space safe but because there are power points around either stay close to your kid or ensure that a mentor is always around