Consider a playground where kids who love Legos and building can spend hours constructing structures from imagination. A place where the focus is on mental rather than physical exertion, and learning occurs along with play. The Build Station, in Rockingham Park Mall in Salem, New Hampshire, aims to be just such a space, offering kids an opportunity to engage in their favorite activity unencumbered. An alternative to outdoor and indoor playgrounds where the emphasis is on physical activity, The Build Station is a place for children who revel in building and creating.
Since opening in the summer of 2011, The Build Station has been attracting children of all ages from the Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire regions. Owner Festus Adelabu conceived the concept for this unique play space and says that the idea was borne out of his daughter’s and his own love of Legos. Adelabu envisions The Build Station to be a place where children’s interest in science and technology can be piqued while being engaged in play.
Kids have a plethora of options to choose from, as the play area offers building blocks in virtually all the leading brands including Legos, K’Nex, Zoob, Uberstix, and Keva planks. Idea cards are on hand to get the creative juices flowing. A mini race track encourages impromptu contests with newly-built cars and trucks. Inspiration also comes from the numerous exhibits of large structures that were built by visiting children. Additionally, The Build Station offers courses to provide a more structured way for children to learn technical concepts. Courses such as Lego Robotics, Lego Mindstorms, Race Car Physics and Buildings and Structures are attracting homeschoolers as well as after-school programs.
“Our goal is to encourage kids to see engineering and science as something they can aspire to,” says Adelabu, who believes that it was his interest in Legos that led to his career as an engineer. “We try to encourage kids to use their creativity, to learn without being force-fed the information. For example, when they play on the race track and have conversations about why one car won and the other one didn’t, their eyes light up as they understand the concepts that might have played a role, such as gravity, friction and inertia,” he adds. The Build Station plans to create ongoing partnerships with some of the area’s educators as well as children’s museums to ensure that it continues to offer innovative activities that stimulate creativity and learning.
The fact that The Build Station’s concept is taking hold is evidenced by the growing number of kids who are repeat visitors to the store. Adelabu also says that feedback from parents has been great, with some even expressing interest in developing a franchise. “Parents appreciate that learning is happening along with play, even if the kids aren’t aware of it,” he says.
Comments