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Wizard of recycling lures kids to science
At the Mama Tierra workshop in Mexico City, a kid's wistful 'I want a remote-control boat' is a plan, not a dream.
from the May 14, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 4
Kids work on picnic tables under a white tent outside the workshop, developing their inventions while they chat and laugh with their friends.
Many of the gadgets that young inventors make at Mama Tierra yield ecological lessons – from toys with recycled parts to machines that run on renewable energy. "We try to encourage energies that don't pollute, that are recyclable, that are renewable, so that the kids will see that they are options," Macias says.
In addition to letting kids follow their imaginations, he offers classes on ecological technologies that are easy to put into practice, like solar ovens and water heaters, both of which can be made using recycled materials.
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Just after lunch on a recent weekday, two high school girls stop by, saying that they need to make a model of the effects of acid rain.
"Would you like to start it now, as if it were a model of a city? We'll make factories that are spewing out dust," he says, after consulting them on their time frame. But the girls say they need to highlight the consequences of acid rain. "We could put in a river, we can put in an ocean – we can even put in the houses, the trees, the birds," he answers.
As the girls decide what to do, Macias says the project is probably for a class on environmental education. He'll help the students make a model that will attract the attention of their classmates with moving parts or flashing lights, or even falling water, and that will highlight a solution to the problem of acid rain.
"At times the solution is right there," he says.
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