Two small boys are standing on stools at a workbench, pretending to talk on outdated handset telephones. They might not yet know how the phones work, but they’re clearly familiar with how to take them apart.
And they do.
A few feet away, three children from low-income families are on iPads beginning a new lesson. Take another step and a handful of youngsters are gathered around a faux-kitchen counter learning to make muffins.
Operation Breakthrough makerspace
“I think of our makerspace as old world meets the 21st century,” said Mary Esselman, president and CEO of Operation Breakthrough, an early learning center at 31st Street and Troost Avenue. The 46-year-old organization serves more than 450 children daily with a mission to provide a safe educational environment for children in poverty.
Implemented three years ago, the makerspace includes such zones as textiles, studio…
