The IDEAS Studio could open by May in the building formerly occupied by Marquez Market, corner of Marquez Avenue and Bollinger. More than two years in the planning, the studio is an enrichment center which will offer science and technology-related programs for children up to age 12. The six-week-long courses, which will be competitively priced with other enrichment programs, will offer four basic learning modules’the environment, the ocean, space, and the human body. ‘It’s a new way of teaching, and of learning,’ said Palisadian Maurizio Vecchione, the IDEAS Studio chairman and co-founder. ‘Our programs, which will be inter-disciplinary, are designed to enrich children in a new exciting, exploratory and participatory format.’ Vecchione, whose son attends elementary school in Santa Monica, said the 2,500 sq. ft. studio is inspired by the belief ‘that the journey of learning is just as much fun as the great ideas that are the result. Remember the last great idea you came up with? Remember what it felt like? What stimulates great ideas? We see the IDEAS Studio as a place where kids can imagine anything, and explore a world filled with adventure and surprise.’ He said the idea for the studio started when he and another Palisades dad, Zac Hartog, got to talking about the need to provide a unique learning experience in the area of science and technology, especially for younger children. The two men met when their children attended preschool at Kehillat Israel. ‘We wanted to create an environment where children enjoy bringing their ideas to life at their own pace, in a fun atmosphere where their surrounding becomes a third teacher,’ said co-founder and CEO Hartog, who is a producer and director of television commercials. He has two young daughters, the oldest of whom attends Marquez Elementary. ‘Unfortunately, we tend to think of science and technology as being for boys,’ he said. ‘At IDEAS, there will be no gender barrier.’ Course content will provide children the opportunity to take a virtual walk on the moon in a glass-enclosed, state-of-the-art computer lab designed to resemble NASA’s Mission Control. At a module known as gadget central, home to the LEGO Robot Family, kids will build, program and race robots in the Robo-arena. The high-tech science lab will offer a variety of opportunities, from making colored slime to analyzing a strand of hair under a digital microscope. Plans also call for a fully outfitted art/media lab, which will combine traditional arts and crafts with digital art where children can make their first movie, create their own art show, or launch their own family Web site. For the youngest explorers, there will be a colorfully padded arena filled with developmental toys and a gigantic soft block climbing pyramid. ‘When the kids walk in the door of IDEAS they’ll know this is not an ordinary studio,’ said Zac’s father, Michael Hartog, who is vice-president of design and development. ‘No matter what their age, there will be a lot for the children to explore.’ In the module on the ocean, for example, children will learn not only what makes a submarine float’and sink’but how it is built. And instead of children just playing video games at home, at the studio they will learn not only how these games are made but how to create their own. Quoting Albert Einstein in a company press release sent out this week (‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’), Vecchione, himself a physicist, said that IDEAS ‘will provide the opportunity for children to discover both. We believe that children need to explore, learn and enjoy at their own pace. Our teaching technologies are also being incorporated into programs being offered to private and public schools, as well as software, smart toys and interactive media.’ Class descriptions, schedules and pre-enrollment will soon be available on the IDEAS Studio Web site (www.theideastudio.com). Classes will be offered for toddlers during the day and for elementary and preteen students after school. Weekend courses are also planned, as is a summer camp.
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