Building Community: Imagination Station
Posted by MeganL,
This week, we hear from Sam Butcher, the Chief Imaginator (what a great title is that?) of Imagination Station in Christchurch, New Zealand. Imagination Station was started directly from a community's need to build.....
Describe the program.
Imagination Station is a registered charity based in Christchurch, New Zealand. We offer a range of activities centred around community development and the advancement of education. We offer "free play" areas where people of all ages can come and play with tables and pits of LEGO and DUPLO bricks. We also offer an array of education courses, primarily using the LEGO education resources, and make these courses available to a wide variety of community groups. We also offer some services such as birthday parties and corporate team building, which generate profit that can be used towards our initiatives.
How long has Imagination Station been running?
Imagination Station launched in January 2015 as a post-earthquake response to re-attract families to the devastated Christchurch city centre. It proved an excellent way to do this, bringing tens of thousands of families into the city who hadn't been back since the 2011 earthquakes. Over the years, the city has gradually got back on its feet.
How did you get started?
The Imagination Station project was founded by LUG 4/2 with the support of some individuals in the Christchurch City Council. LUG 4/2 had gained a good reputation through running the annual Christchurch Brick Show since 2012, so organisations were confident we could take on a bigger challenge. With support from a landlord, the LEGO CEE team and some grant funding, the project was able to get off the ground with a very "grassroots" feel and vibe. Things have changed a bit since then! In 2017, we were given the opportunity to move in with the South Island biggest Library, which was being newly built (we opened our new space to the public in October 2018). While Imagination Station continues to bring hundreds of thousands of people into the city centre, our goals have also diversified. The concept of "bringing families back to the central city" has broadened out to other areas of community development. Some of these initiatives include supporting youth getting work experience through our comprehensive volunteering programme and creating a "Pop-up Imagination Station" that can be set up in other areas that need foot-traffic for various reasons. We've also grown our education offerings considerably, becoming a major player in the market for STEM-based activities both inside and outside of schools.
Is Imagination Station associated with an RLUG?
Yes, absolutely! Imagination Station was founded by LUG 4/2. LUG 4/2 has been around since 2011 and was New Zealand's first official LUG. The group ran its first show in 2012 and became a registered charity in 2014. Since then we've seen an explosion of the interest in LEGO and the number of LUGs around the country.
How many people have been reached?
Imagination Station has had hundreds of thousands of visitors since opening and taught over 20,000 students with LEGO Education. One of the highlights for me is when kids love Imagination Station so much; they come back to volunteer as teenagers!
How many volunteers are involved, and what do they do?
Alongside our 5 paid staff, we have an outstanding team of volunteers. The number typically fluctuates between 50 and 80 volunteers throughout the year as they go through training and go on to get work elsewhere. Our diverse volunteer team have a wide range of skills and backgrounds, and we see volunteering as a two-way agreement - while they come to support us, we like to make sure they're being supported and learning valuable skills along the way. Our work wouldn't be possible without them!
Volunteers do a huge range of tasks, depending on their interests and skillsets. The way we see it, most commonly they welcome and engage with customers in our play areas, keeping things clean and tidy. Some volunteers have specific interests in creating content for social media, and others like to help with classes.
You mentioned that you have several paid staff. How did you get started with the staffing?
When Imagination Station was launched, the intention was that it would be open to the public 7 days per week. It was decided early in planning that this would require some oversight from paid staff. This was allowed for in the budgets, meaning we could always have a paid staff member on-hand to oversee volunteers and help visitors.
How long have you (personally) been involved in LEGO, and how did you end up involved with this project?
I personally never exactly grew out of LEGO. I've been building since I was introduced to Duplo at a year old, and was thrilled to get my own first LEGO set at age 4, the tiny 6901 Space Plane. I must have built that set a thousand times!
I was initially a big Star Wars fan but gradually transitioned into (primarily) the Technic, Ideas and Creator Expert lines. When I was in school, I got quite involved with the local LEGO Mindstorms competitions such as Robocup which proved to be quite influential in directing what I've gone on to do! I taught LEGO Education classes during my first few years at university, which was a great way to tie my interests together with paying for my studies.
At the time Imagination Station was launched, I was an active LUG member and was also on the governance board establishing the project. Having already had specialised experience teaching with LEGO education, and given I was finishing off my degree in commerce, it made sense to leverage those skills within the project. Things went through a few iterations, but I ended up in the role of Managing Director in June 2015. I'm certainly pretty lucky to have such a job!
How has your organization affected by the pandemic?
Luckily for us, New Zealand has been comparatively well-managed throughout the pandemic. Being a distant island nation helps maintain our borders! However, LEGO play with strangers is not exactly a sanitary activity (even with regular hygiene measures in place). New Zeland has a 4-stage threat system for Covid-19, with level 4 being the highest risk of rapid community transmission. Imagination Station was completely shut down with staff working from home during alert levels 3 & 4, but were able to resume teaching services at level 2. The play areas have been closed at anything above level 1.
What are your/the group's future plans?
Well, that's a great question, but one without a particularly comprehensive answer. We regularly get asked if we plan to expand into other cities. While we're open to this in the medium term, it isn't currently on our priority list. Covid-19 has reminded many organisations that it's important to be prudent with planning and not take on too much risk! With New Zeland recently adding a new digital curriculum for schools, we believe that there's plenty more room to grow our education services, and we remain focused on this.
If you're interested in our work and would like to learn more, check out the Imagination Station website!
Thanks, Sam! Do you know of an individual or an organization who should be featured in Building Community? Let us know.
61 likes
2 comments on this article
Glad to hear that NZ has managed the pandemic to a degree that allows Imagination Station to return to some of their activity.
Very inspiring. Especially like the 'Lego-pit' build area, just like a sand pit.
Must be very rewarding work.