Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, a nonprofit enrichment center in Scarborough, will soon add the Tinkerbus to its project space this year. The Tinkerbus was created by Fiddlehead Center for the Arts’ Executive Director, Oona Gilles-Weil, and her husband. It is a 26-foot school bus that they modified into a classroom and project space. 

Fiddlehead Center for the Arts has been in Scarborough since 2007. It is an art and science integrated program that focuses on STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art, and math. At Fiddlehead, the “M” also stands for music, as some of the programming deals with music as well. Camps are one week long, each with a different theme, and runs through the summer. Each camp thus far has had room for about 20 kids. 

As Scarborough has grown, Fiddlehead’s demand has begun to outgrow its capacity. 

“We were all sitting around in our staff meetings trying to figure out how we could up our capacity without buying a new building or all these far-reaching goals that we might get to at some point, but we’re definitely not there yet,” said Gilles-Weil. “At the same time, there is this Tinkerbus in California that I was founder of with my husband in 2018. We bought an old school bus and gutted it and made it into a classroom space on wheels, and that was our business for a while in the Bay Area. We would go to schools, and parties, and events, and bring STEAM learning to children and families all over the Bay Area. 

“We sold that business when we moved to Maine. And we were kind of like ‘Could we do it again in here, in Maine?’ And then the woman who bought it from us reached out and said she couldn’t keep the Tinkerbus any longer. She was moving, and (asked if there) was there any way we would want it in Maine. So then it all came together, and we are on our path to get it here, which is very exciting.” 

With the additional project space to rotate children into, the capacity has increased to at least 10 new kids in camp per week. 

The Tinkerbus also creates new possibilities for collaboration with Fiddlehead’s partners. For example, schools often ask Fiddlehead to support enrichment activities at campuses but do not have space for them. With the Tinkerbus, they can bring their own classroom space to various schools. 

“As long as they have a parking lot, we can set up, and then kids can come onboard and do all sorts of dynamic projects, have a really unique experience on their own campus,” said Gilles-Weil. “And so (schools) don’t have to go through all the challenges that schools face in getting kids transported to different places. So we are hopeful that even beyond this summer that the Tinkerbus will help us expand our programming and reach and bring enrichment activities to kids who might have not had access to that before. We can go anywhere in the bus.” 

When the bus was modified, all of the original seats were removed and rubber flooring was put down for ease of cleaning. Tables are arranged in a way in which they lift out of brackets on side walls. This allows Fiddlehead to adjust the space based on need. For example, for a younger group less tables may be used during a story time or similar circle-time activity with rugs on the floor. For an older group such as fourth- or fifth-graders, all of the tables may be lifted out for a full classroom.  

“It’s really wonderful in that way that we can adjust it in that way,” said Gilles-Weil. 

The Tinkerbus is currently making the 3,200-mile journey from California. Fiddlehead is hosting a GoFundMe drive to help pay for expenses. 

“We’re in the process of trying to get funding … there are a lot of expenses of getting it here that we hadn’t budgeted for, because this is all kind of on the fly,” Gilles-Weil said.

Once the Tinkerbus is up and running, the Tinkerbus is expected to easily pay for itself with programming. The initial transportation and first year of the bus is the financial challenge. 

For more information about the Tinkerbus, Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, or donate for transportation, visit www.fiddleheadscarborough.org/tinkerbus.

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