At one end of a school gym, buckets of pink and blue glue sat on a glitter-covered table where slime was being made. As some families made slime, the sound of dribbling basketballs echoed through the room, from children and adults playing basketball at the other end of the gym.
The Detroit Parent Network’s free annual Young Inventors event at University Preparatory Academy in Detroit on Wednesday also featured health and dental screenings, access to health care and opportunities to get involved in education and child care policy.
Remy Sirls, senior director of programming and impact at DPN, said the event was designed to provide caregivers and children with a fun activity while increasing access to resources.
“We want to provide parents with information, educate them on things they may not know about, and give them the resources they need to do what they want to do,” Sirls said. “How can they incorporate this into their lives? So we don’t want to tell people what to do or how to do it, but just give them access to the resources.”
Typically, students present creative projects at the event, but this year participants took part in other activities.
DPN introduced new activities, such as a “Passport to Literacy,” where children could get a stamp at each station to receive a prize.
Families could also swap books at a “Give a Book, Give a Book” station, which offered new books for different reading levels.
Children were also able to vote in two mock elections: Cookie Monster versus Elmo for the presidency and Android versus iPhone.
Jessica Walk and her two-year-old daughter came because they were looking for a fun way to socialize. They especially enjoyed the slime-making table.
Cousins Alakai and Abel McClain helped DPN organize the event. Alakai, a teen volunteer with DPN who is entering 10th grade, helped Abel set up the craft table. Abel, a rising sixth-grader at Lincoln Middle School, was also a fan of the slime table.
DPN Program Manager Toyja Bridges, who has helped run the program each year, especially enjoys watching families do experiments and fun activities with their children.
“It’s a great family time,” Bridges said. “It’s amazing. I just love it when people come together.”
DPNwhich has hosted the event twice, is a parent involvement organization that helps parents advocate for their children’s rights and create change in their schools and community.
Alex Klaus is a summer intern at Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at [email protected].
