The Tinker Shop

The Tinker Shop invites children and adults to explore concepts of building, creativity and invention. In this space, museum visitors can engage hands-on with various materials and tools. Through these interactive experiences, visitors are encouraged to tackle challenges and think critically, gaining valuable problem-solving skills.

April Activities

We have exciting April Activities in the TinkerShop at Imagine Children’s Museum! We’re thrilled to announce a month of creative and hands-on projects in the TinkerShop this April! All activities are inspired by the Week of the Young Child (April 7-13), and each week brings exciting new challenges, collaborative projects, and opportunities for children to explore, create, and solve problems using recycled materials.

Week 1: Kickoff to Creativity
April 1 – 6  

Start the month with a bang! Week 1 is all about hands-on creativity. From colorful collages to 3D recycled sculptures, kids will get the chance to explore different artistic techniques and work together on a Collaborative Recycled Art Mural, adding their own creations to a growing mixed-media masterpiece. Tiny Tinkers: Color Collage Creations – Kids make colorful collages using recycled paper, magazines, and fabric scraps. Thinker Tinkers: Recycled Art Sculptures – Challenge kids to build 3D sculptures using everyday recycled items like cardboard and egg cartons.

Community Project: Collaborative Recycled Art Mural – A large mural where every child adds their own piece to create a vibrant work of art over the week.

Week 2: Week of the Young Child
April 7 – 13

Celebrate early learning, healthy food, music & movement, and family engagement during this special week! The Tinker Town community project allows kids to build a miniature town, featuring educational buildings, food trucks, music stations, and homes, all made from recycled materials. Music Monday: Make shakers or build rubber band guitars to explore sound! Tasty Tuesday: Tiny Tinkers get hands-on with kitchen tools and recipes, while Thinker Tinkers build mini cardboard kitchens. Work Together Wednesday: Kids collaborate to create large sculptures from recycled materials. Artsy Thursday: Create bubble wrap prints or upcycled weaving projects. Family Friday: Families can create DIY games or puzzles to take home and play together.

Week 3: Storytelling & Imagination 
April 14 – 20

Let’s bring stories to life! In Week 3, children will create a Tinker Story Path, a physical story trail made of recycled materials that they can walk through and add to every day. They’ll also have fun decorating story stones and playing with puppets! Tiny Tinkers/Thinker Tinkers: Decorate recycled objects (like bottle caps or cardboard) to use as story prompts in fun puppet play or storytelling activities.

Community Project: Tinker Story Path – A story trail kids can contribute to with each new part of a narrative.

Week 4: Engineering & Problem Solving
April 21 – 30

In the final week of April, kids will become engineers and problem-solvers! The Tinker Tower Challenge will have kids working together to build a large, creative tower using recycled materials, while others test their design skills with flying contraptions. Tiny Tinkers: Stack & Build Towers – Use cups, boxes, and tubes to create the tallest or most creative tower. Thinker Tinkers: Flying Machine Challenge – Build and test paper helicopters, gliders, and parachutes made from recycled materials.

Community Project: Tinker TowerChallenge – A growing community project where kids collaborate to build an impressive tower throughout the week.

Tiny Tinkers

Ages 2-4. Hands-on exploration with age-appropriate tools.

Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Challenges and materials are appropriate for even our youngest guests.  Tinker trays will be filled with materials to help solve a specific fun and imaginative challenge for the day intended to spark innovation and creative thinking while being introduced to the basics of the engineering design process.

Thinker Tinker Challenge

Exciting daily challenges for kids 5+ to design and build.

Tuesday – Thursday, 2 – 4 p.m. | Saturday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

While the challenge might be the same, the afternoon involves more complex concepts related to the engineering design process, and guests are invited to choose from a variety of different materials to help solve the Weekly Challenge.

Woodworking Wonders

Learn basic woodworking skills and create fun projects.

Friday – Sunday, 2 – 4 p.m.

During this time, visitors to the Tinker Shop learn how to use traditional woodshop tools through open-ended exploration or to help solve a challenge. Participants will understand the fundamentals of tool usage, measurement, and construction, all while receiving guidance on safe practices. Guests should expect to participate in 30-minute sessions with a required facilitator led safety orientation during this time.  Safety goggles are required to be worn by all in the Tinker Shop during these times.

Challenges rotate weekly! See our weekly roundup posts on Facebook or Instagram for the latest challenge!

All activities are included with Museum admission unless otherwise specified.