Pi Day (March 14) this year had an extra slice of hands-on learning for students at Piney Branch Elementary School: a Take-It-Apart event! Supported by volunteers from the Takoma Fixit Clinic, groups of students dismantled a variety of small appliances, tools, and electronics to investigate how they work. The Clinic volunteers provided the screwdrivers and encouragement for the 6-hour event and Community Forklift provided a majority of the 40 items that were disassembled.
Part of Piney Branch Elementary School’s STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program, the event provided around 200 students the opportunity to explore the inner workings of everyday objects around the home. In addition to learning about the items themselves, students also gained valuable experience in problem-solving, teamwork, and the practical skills of using hand tools effectively and safely.
“Thank you … for supporting our Take-It-Apart event,” said an event volunteer from the Takoma Fixit Clinic. “It was a great success for all involved.”
The Takoma Fixit Clinic is a project of the Friends of the Takoma Park Maryland Library (FTPML). In cooperation with the Takoma Park Library, FTPML hosts free public clinics where area residents can bring small broken items to be diagnosed by skilled volunteers who then show how the item might be repaired. It’s an opportunity to return items to service and also reduce landfill waste.
In addition to the Takoma Fixit Clinic, FTPML organizes book clubs and book sales, builds and maintains free little libraries, and creates poetry posters to display around the city. FTPML has also hosted Fixit Clinics at local public schools, where skilled volunteers teach students how to repair small electronics, appliances, bicycles, furniture, and other items. FTPML is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that supports the Takoma Park Library by funding activities aimed at promoting reading and learning within the community.
FTPML recently received a Community Building Blocks (CBB) grant for free materials from Community Forklift to support their work. CBB grants enable schools, nonprofits, and community groups across the DC metro area to bring their projects to life. If your group or organization has a project that could benefit from a CBB grant, visit our website for more information and to apply. We would love to hear about your work and how you are making an impact on the world around you!
“Thank you … for supporting our Take-It-Apart event. It was a great success for all involved.”
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
