Building Families and Scientific Knowledge

A Partnership Working to Strengthen our Community

October 30, 2023

by Richard Welsch, Education Manager, Imagination Station

A partnership over the past decade has taken a unique approach to building relationships along with building scientific understanding in the community. Since 2013, Imagination Station and Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) have worked together to bring families together through science.

Each week during child and parent visitation programs at LCCS, Imagination Station team members provide science-themed activity tables for children and parents to participate in. For children who have been separated from their parent(s) for safety concerns, the activity tables provide children with a feeling of accomplishment while they work on their project and an opportunity to connect with their parents as they complete the activity. At the same time, parents are supported with ideas for play and interactions with their children. Families who progress through their reunification process at LCCS can take visits to the science center and receive a membership to Imagination Station.

This fall, Imagination Station is hosting the activity tables twice a week at LCCS through support from the Bill Rowles Youth Foundation and the Katherine R. Smith Funds for Youth. We are connecting, on average, with 20 children and 8 parents each week.

This year, some of the well-received activities include building bridges and making fossils. However, as we move toward the holiday season, Imagination Station is looking forward to bringing seasonal activities to the families. From pumpkin slime to candy corn catapults and growing a Grinch’s heart, our partnership with LCCS looks to inspire, inform and create connections through science. Let’s keep on building!