Dumpster Diamonds

Cores-Decorative "2" x 4" diameter kraft cores with a variety of glossy, colorful patterns, 7 per pound $2.00.

One of more than 30 pre-packaged collections of basement-priced junk. From Trash for Teaching - one of the few remaining such enterprises. I first encountered something like this in the early 70s at the Durham Child Development Center, where I worked with founders Don and Lore Rasmussen and director Peter Buttenweiser. It was a remarkable resource, where teachers could go, for free, and build furniture, bookshelves and games for their classroom. The availability of scrap material and collection centers, and a significant amount of government funding were key to the program's longevity. But the success of the program came from the people it drew - young, motivated teachers who believed in their calling, and the importance of their work.

"Trash for Teaching collects, stores and sorts enormous amounts of clean, cast-off materials from manufacturing processes. We work with school districts to develop guidelines utilizing these materials in conjunction with current standards-based curricula, and deliver the materials and guidelines directly to schools for teachers to introduce in classroom projects.

"These materials--or 'Dumpster Diamonds'--have inherent versatile qualities that stimulate children's imagination and encourage learning in any subject, from Math and Science, to Art, Music, Theatre and Literacy.

"Items like cores, spools, cones, giant tubes, fabric, plastic webbing, paper, wire, tiles, wood pieces and many more countless doodads quickly become coveted treasures with which children can explore and create. The use of these 'found' items, along with traditional learning materials, fosters creativity and reinforces creative problem solving. Due to their variety and abundance, these materials can be anything to any child, limited only by his or her own imagination, culture, and personal experience."

The idea was visionary 35 years ago. And it is even moreso today. Tie the easy availability of these inspired collections of scrap with concepts like Junkyard Sports, and we can celebrate yet one more hope for the future of childhood and all playkind.