January 24, 2025

Winter break may mean time off from school, but our young people kept their minds sharp during these midwinter days. Before heading back to the classroom after the holiday break, they enjoyed fun educational experiences and field trips where they were exposed to new career fields. And they participated in therapeutic activities to relieve some stress. This year, the focus of these winter break activities was on arts and technology.

Many of our young people love to express their creativity. A class that engaged that expression through technology was called “We are Web Designers.” Participants learned some of the fundamentals involved in creating their own websites using graphics, images, videos, and animations.

“The youth learned basic code as an introductory to web design class to foster an interest in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics), and have an avenue to use their voice,” said Mercy Home’s After School Tutoring Coordinator Veronica Quintero.

Some of our youth aspire to be game designers, making the class a great opportunity for them to gain hands-on technical experience. As part of the web design exercise, youth were asked to supply a few facts about themselves to help them conceptualize the theme of their sites.

Youth also went on a field trip to The Big Infinity Space, located in Chicago’s West Loop. The company contributes elements to hit movies for Marvel, Netflix, and Disney and our young people got a glimpse into making movie magic. Some of The Big Infinity Space’s notable projects include Ant Man, Hunger Games, Planet of the Apes, and many other films.

Caleb, a Mercy Home youth, was impressed to learn how a movie comes together, and the people involved in creating our favorite films.

“[I learned] how community can be formed through different types of arts,” he said. “I like learning, I see life through a very colorful way.”

At the studio space, our kids played an improv game and learned about the roles that producers, directors, and actors play in a movie. Then, a few of our boys participated in acting out a scene. Caleb served as the director of the scene and had a fun time leading his peers.

Additionally, the youth toured the audio and animation room, where they had the chance to play some of the instruments, and got to know the crew at The Big Infinity Space.

“The best part was creating music,” Caleb said. “That was really fun, creating random beats.”

Other fun activities our youth did to keep active and learning during their time away from school included pottery wheel throwing and puffy glue crafting.

This year’s winter break provided the opportunity for many fun and educational activities. Our young people learned new ways to express their creativity and how they can turn it into a hobby or even a career. These activities allowed our youth to reboot, learn something new, and gain energy and inspiration for the new school semester.