Expanding Creativity at Sugar Sand

Andrea Virgin's experience that helped shape Sugar Sand Park's Science Playground is now helping to mold her creativity-boosting venture.

As a second grader at St. Joan of Arc school in the early 1990s, Virgin and her friends were part of the group of children who shared their thoughts on what features they'd like to see incorporated into the new playground being created at Sugar Sand.

“All of the sudden I realized that kids' ideas have value, that kids' ideas can come to life, that there's no crazy idea out there,” Virgin said. “To know that adults sought out kids ideas back when I was in second grade was something that stuck with me ever since.”

Many of the ideas generated by those children became mainstays within the playground.

“Seeing some of my friends' ideas come to life, like the light that you could race the animals and the eye that would be able to see like how inside your brain sees things, the whole maze idea, you know, these were all kids' ideas,” Virgin said.

Lessons learned from those playground creative sessions continue to yield dividends.

The organization she founded, simply known as The Center, focuses on developing creativity within people young and old. Initially she thought of The Center as a vehicle to develop the arts. That idea soon grew into developing creativity in many different aspects of life.

“We need creativity in our workplace every day and in the community,” Virgin said. “We need creativity every day because we've got major societal problems that we're trying to fix. We have to be creative about those.”

To design programs and events to foster creativity, The Center visited schools and used digital collection means to ask children what features they would like to see in a creative center. Suggestions included a tree house stage where children can build their confidence by speaking or performing in front of their peers, a room with random items the children could use to invent things, and a garden where plants can be grown, then transplanted within the community for beautification.

“Really ideas from all over and some crazy ideas, right?” Virgin said. “Some like rainbow slides, a unicorn petting station - all sorts of things. But no idea is a bad idea. We're here to hear it all.”

The results proved so encouraging, Virgin decided to take the program a step further, creating the What If? program of pop-up creativity sessions.

For the first of those programs, Virgin elected to return to the park from which she's drawn so much inspiration.

On Nov. 1, a capacity gathering of children and parents packed Sugar Sand's community center to enjoy graffiti stenciling, the creation of a community mural, art stations, and even some slime.

Virgin said it felt “amazing” to launch the pop-ups at Sugar Sand – the place where she first realized that children's ideas have value.

“This is a really full circle moment,” said Virgin, while seated at a picnic table with a view of Sugar Sand's playground. 

The Center isn't focusing solely on children's creativity. It intends to create events geared toward business professionals and even retirees.

Following the What If? pop-up at Sugar Sand, Virgin headed to Miami for another pop-up. The center held a third pop-up in Fort Lauderdale the following day.

While there is no date yet for a second pop-up at Sugar Sand, Virgin does expect to return soon.

“We'd love to do more here,” Virgin said. “We'll probably do some more pop ups, some more creative engagement opportunities for that kind of younger age group, but also inter-generational programming as well.”