A bright group of 6th graders at the Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis were challenged to finding better ways to manage trash. As part of the First Lego League’s Lego Robotics Challenge, the students’ group called the Recyclones created a website as a resource to help people find out where and how to donate “old” toys that children outgrow. Their mission is to reduce waste, specifically associated with toys.  Their website (donatetoysmpls.com) provides information about where to donate toys and how to repurpose them.

For instance, they suggest using old stuffed animals as bookends – a toy that is commonly thrown away. They also hosted an eco-minded carnival, which gave out used toys as prizes for the games instead of new ones.  Kids were excited to play the games and receive a “new-to-them” toy as a prize. The Minneapolis Toy Library is honored to be the recipient of the money raised at the carnival. They plan to add more ideas about how to repurpose toys that cannot be donated, so make sure to bookmark their website for future updates.

Last week the Recyclones won the project part of the competition and are moving onto sectionals in the next couple of weeks. The MPLS Toy Library wishes them the best of luck!