Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the writing was on the wall for Boulder-based STEM playground The Hopper.
The startup had a stable of smaller investors backing it, but needed a lead investor to reduce the risk associated with creating a project of this magnitude.
The Hopper aimed to construct a 14,000 square foot innovator play space in Boulder where families would be able to take part in STEM projects together.
But, that investor never came.
“It became clear that we were doing an impact project and trying to pitch it to people as an investment opportunity,” former Hopper creative director Jill Katzenberger said.
Without that backing, The Hopper’s vision began to fade and, by the end of February, the company’s CEO stepped down. The project was over before it ever launched.
Katzenberger said the remaining employees went through a reflection process, wondering what a smaller-scale backup plan may look like. While The Hopper hadn’t worked out, some of the team still believed there was an interest in a STEM-focused space that catered to children and their parents.
So, Katzenberger revived the project, albeit in a smaller scale and with a slightly tweaked mission.
The Hopper has now morphed into Junkyard Social Club, a nonprofit adventure playground and café in Boulder.
Rather than filling the giant building in Boulder, the Junkyard will be comprised of 3,000 indoor square feet and 6,000 outdoor square feet, filled with art installations, unique playground elements and repurposed objects designed to spark interest in children.
Katzenberger’s husband is contributing a giant wooden cube sculpture once used at Burning Man, while the team is also scavenging antique collections and junkyards to find objects like an old WW1 training plane.
“This is a creative space that feels more grassroots in effort than the Hopper,” she said, adding that the previous project involved high-tech designers and architects. “In this case, we’re leaning into the maker movement.”
The team is currently gutting the space and preparing for construction of the various installations and play areas. Junkyard is also having conversations with donors and grant funders to back the project, now slightly relieved of the stresses of ROI from the previous project.
“We realized we needed to let go of a certain set of expectations that we had for The Hopper,” Katzenberger said.
"We owe our inspiration and momentum to everything that we learned through the process of developing the Hopper, under the leadership of Hopper CEO, Kristin Lawerence, who remains involved in the project as building owner, advisor and financial supporter," Katzenberger added.
While Covid-19 has made planning harder, Katzenberger is hopeful to offer small camps at Junkyard later this summer, before launching the ultimate experience when it’s safe to do so.
She envisions a space where parents and kids can have a great time, at the same time. The adults can enjoy a beer, cup of coffee or check out installations by artists, while the kids can run wild and explore a variety of play areas.
“It really comes down to a space where kids and parents are both happy,” she said.
While there is still much to be done, Katzenberger said Junkyard is looking for volunteers to help put installations together, among a variety of other tasks. She also welcomes anyone that has ‘junk’ that they’d like to donate to the project.
“We’re looking for cool objects that they want to see repurposed in a fun way,” she said. “Like a beat-up VW bug that is just sitting in the backyard.”
