From Trash to Spotlight

Kids’ imaginations are pretty powerful.
How else can you explain the idea of using a pizza box to make a solar-cooker?
That creation and many more are part of a “recycled art” project and contest based on the Kasson Public Library’s ‘Building a Better World’ summer program.
Library assistant Melanie Bersano said the idea was to use old household items to make an interesting new creation.
“We asked that they be made from products that they either already had at home or that they found at somebody else’s home, like in the garbage,” she said. “We didn’t want them going out and buying anything.”
Area students could work on their creations from the end of May to the end of July.
About 56 recycled creations were submitted.
Bersano said six independent judges examined the contest submissions.
Four creations won ribbons, including the solar-cooker, which also won a special award from City Administrator Theresa Coleman.
“The City Administrator liked it because it was practical and she said it was ‘really interesting,’” Bersano said.
The kids behind that creation, brothers Joey and Seth Bell, received a Chamber of Commerce gift cards.

A few recycled projects by adults are also showcased in the library.

The recycled items will be displayed through the end of August.