This project aims to propose an alternative to the consumption of plastic toys by making new things from old stuff. Through creative online workshops, facilitated by Kids’ Own artists, children and families were engaged in imaginative toy-making. These workshops focused on the reuse of waste, recycled, or natural material, all of which are found within the household and surrounding environment.

The creative engagement sessions were designed to introduce children to different concepts of making, and to allow space for exploration, adaptation, and new inventions by children, inspired by their experiences in the workshops. More broadly, the workshops aim to promote lateral thinking, a vital skill for coping with the challenges of the creation of a circular economy and sustainable communities.

After each online workshop, the artist facilitating the workshop created a resource and guide to making the object or structure. We hope these guides will encourage children all over Ireland to create their own reinventions, whether based on the artist’s guide, or something completely new. We are asking children to submit photos and descriptions of their ‘reinventions’, which will form part of the Kids’ Own Library of Ideas.

When the COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, we hope to arrange a ‘play day’, where children can work alongside artists to create more new things from old stuff, and to share their own reinventions with other children.

‘Reinventions’ is a Kids’ Own project supported by the Community Foundation of Ireland, which seeks to cultivate an ethos of sustainability and creative reuse.

In our product-saturated, commercial world, Kids’ Own is passionate about supporting children to develop awareness of and appreciation for sustainable approaches and global issues. Small steps at a local/community level can make a difference!

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