As you may already know Kaleidoscope Place and its students have been learning more and more about the recycling and renewable resources. To start 2015 with a bang Kaleidoscope Place has decided to create a student made video documenting all they have learned. Each and every student has found a role in the film whether it be a news anchor, field reporter, talk show host, dancer, or even a member of the camera and film crew! So far Kaleidoscope students have taken a field trip to ArtScraps, a craft store in located in St. Paul. ArtScraps is an innovative concept that combines waste management with art making! In a unique partnership with businesses and manufacturers, ArtScraps collects scraps, overstock, factory rejects, and other items normally destined for the landfill. ArtScraps makes these products available to teachers, parents, artists, scout leaders, day care providers – anyone working with children or interested in reducing waste through reuse of discard able materials. Kaleidoscope students received a tour of the store and got the chance to make their own keepsake boxes out of recycled and reusable materials!
Patience Caso from Hennepin County also paid Kaleidoscope Place a visit this week to follow up on any questions Kaleidoscope students regarding recycling. As the camera rolled our students got a chance to run a formal interview revealing even more fascinating insight into the world of recycling and how Hennepin County is a leader in the recycling and reuse movement! Lastly Kaleidoscope students interviewed fellow students and staff at the schools they attend to record and report the percentage of people that recycle in their community. Next week is the last week of filming with a premiere scheduled for a date in early February! Stay Tuned!

Article by: Paxton Carroll, Senior IT Officer

On December 2nd, 2014 the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry paid Kaleidoscope Place a visit.  Students received a chance to learn all about their teeth and good oral health practices from aspiring dentists Melissa Richter, Audrey Weber, Karly Wittsitt, Kate Egan, and Bob Wightman.  Together they set up interactive stations for students to learn and test their skills!  Students learned how mix rubber compound to make molds out of the supplied teeth models.  They put their tooth brushing skills to the test on stuffed animals with a full set of adult teeth using the same equipment as real dentists!  Many of the students’ favorite activities was learning about things that are good and bad for your teeth using a magnetic tooth diagram.  Foods and drinks that were bad for your teeth would stick to the teeth and need to be brushed off while good food would fall right off the teeth when placed there.  As students participated in the activities their were smiles and laughter all around and everyone got to take a toothbrush home with them courtesy of the Dental students!  Once again thank you to the U of M School of Dentistry, we hope to have you again in the future!