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Laura Seitz, Deseret News
There';s a part of your brain that doesn't get exercised without using your hands. A lot of what we're doing today with kids isn't hands-on. We're trying to help get kids interested in science, engineering, math. All of this stuff in here was developed by people who used their hands. —Bruce Kizerian, facilitator
















The main wall of the Tinkering Garage is a corkboard lined with pins and surrounded by different funnels, pipes and tubes, where kids can engineer a roller coaster of sorts and see if they can get a marble to make it from one end to the other without falling on the ground.

“They have a lot of fun,” Kizerian said. “But then they see how tricky it is,” which he believes makes them want to keep exploring and playing until they get it right.

There are stations to make catapults, wind-up cars and other contraptions with cardboard, sticks and rubber bands. Interactive workshops and classes on subjects like tool safety take place throughout the day. “If they look responsible, we may even let them saw something,” Kizerian said.

With the popularity of technology among kids, it's sometimes easy to get consumed in activities that aren't especially challenging or stimulating.

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“There’s a part of your brain,” Kizerian explained, “that doesn’t get exercised without using your hands.” For him, people have an innate need to create, but there aren’t enough outlets to let that creative process take place.

“A lot of what we’re doing today with kids isn’t hands-on. We’re trying to help get kids interested in science, engineering, math. All of this stuff in here was developed by people who used their hands.”

At Create Quest, kids should be able to have fun and maybe even take home what they learn.

The Leonardo is located at 209 E. 500 South. To order passes, visit or call (801) 531-9800.