5 minute read
Imaginarium
educational toys make debut at Imaginarium
By Shayla Gaulding shayla@emporia.com
At their freshly-opened learning center in downtown Emporia, Melanie Curtis and Dell Jacob have been inspiring the next generation of thinkers and tinkerers through interactive and enjoyable STEM-based programming. Now, the pair are offering a way to bring that educational fun home for the holidays.
Imaginarium, a STEM-based learning center that aims to bring science, technology, engineering and math to local children through project-based learning opportunities was founded by Curtis and Jacob — former USD 253 educators with 33 years of combined experience teaching children. The center opened on Aug. 24 and now has taken the next step in its mission “to provide a space for the next generation of makers, builders, creators, engineers, and entrepreneurs to grow and flourish.”
Starting Nov. 14, Curtis and Jacob began offering STEM-related toys in their new gift shop, located at the front of their store in the Emporia Main Street’s Incubator Space at 729 Commercial St.
Curtis said the gift shop will be “full of fun, educational toys.”
— Melanie Curtis
Melanie Curtis and Dell Jacob with a few of the STEM-related toys available at Imaginarium.
The toys will be for kids and kids-at-heart, with Imaginarium’s gift shop offering something for anyone — from newborns to adults.
“They really range from all ages, infants on up. It’s all hands on discovery type toys,” Jacob said.
There is ‘really there’s no limit” on age, she added. “Adults like some of these fidget, discovery types of things too. And beside the discovery toys, there are also games for the whole family and science kits.”
Imaginarium started offering the toys on Nov. 14, most of which are $30 and under.
“I think that would be a positive price point for Emporia,” Curtis said.
To accommodate the needs of Emporians bustling to complete their holiday shopping, Imaginarium has also expanded their hours.
“We will have afternoon and evening hours during the week,” Curtis said. “On the weekends we will be open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. - 5 on Sundays for the holiday season.”
With most of their classes being offered in the mornings or evenings, the afternoon hours are new for Imaginarium.
“That will be a change for us, and we definitely want the community to know that they are welcome to come in, they are welcome to shop. That’s what it’s meant for,” Jacob said.
Offering educational toys has always been in the books for Curtis and Jacob, and with the holidays approaching, they knew it was the right time to launch their new shop.
“It just was a matter of timing,” Jacob said. “When we first opened for classes we weren’t quite ready or set up for toy sales, but now we are. We’re ready and we would like to launch it before the holiday season.”
“With Imaginarium being a non-profit facility, the profits from the toy sales go right back into Imaginarium and allow us to continue with programming and develop new programming,” Curtis added.
Most of the toys Curtis and Jacob will be offering come from the Nebraska-based educational toy and game manufacturer Fat Brain Toys.
“Their mission is to enrich families and provide a smarter way to play, inspiring creativity and sparking curiosity,” Jacob said. “And that’s what we do here at Imaginarium, so their toys fit hand-in-hand with what we are doing and we just wanted to offer something more for the community because we don’t have a lot of places to shop for children’s toys.”
In order to obtain the partnership with Fat Brain Toys, Imaginarium had to undergo a screening process.
“I was familiar with Fat Brain Toys because of their store in Kansas City,” Curtis said. “I reached out to the company. We had to go through an interview process to see if we would be a fit for them. After finishing that process, they determined that this would be a good location to sell their products.”
With limited options for children’s toys in Emporia, Curtis and Jacob are excited to be able to offer the educational toys to the community for the holiday season. Imaginarium will also be offering three Fat Brain Toys that made the 17th Annual Toy and Cider Holiday Gift Guide — Trestle Tracks Deluxe, Tugl Cube and Dimpl Splash.
“We don’t have anything like it in town,” Curtis said. “They are fun. There are a variety of interests. We have lots of dinosaur stuff, there’s science kits, we have stuff for people who are interested in outdoor exploring, fidgets, games for the whole family.”
But the toys don’t just make perfect holiday gifts — they are also beneficial for sparking and maintaining curiosity.
“The younger kids, they are in their formative years and so picking up these things can help with the connections in the brain, making those connections,” Curtis explained. “Older kids who are excited about things, they will be able to pick up toys that continue to foster their curiosity.”
For more information, stop by Imaginarium at 729 Commercial St., call 620-208-6363, or visit their website at emporiaimaginarium.org.
