Dallas SPARK!

Research shows that the benefits of self-defining as creative are endless. As shown in the “SMU Meadows Prize Report: Building a Thriving Artistic Community," youth with access to a creative education “learn more, are better at problem solving, and are less likely to get in trouble." Further, there is a growing consensus in the business world that creativity is one of the most important personal characteristics for success in the workforce and is an essential component in an employee's ability to adapt and acquire new skills (IBM Global Business Services Executive Report: “Connected Generation").

The hands-on learning and fully immersive, creative environment of SPARK! provides students with individualized learning that helps them embrace their full creative potential and increase their self-definition as creative. By giving students the confidence to be creative, access to creative programming, and educating them in the creative process, SPARK! leads the way in helping more students acquire creative skills to excel in school and compete in the workforce.

During their visit to SPARK! children explore our creative environment and engage in instructor-led creative activities. SPARK! studios are outfitted for silk-screening, glass fusion, ceramics, music recording and mixing, and a performance area. Other programs include: coroplast engineering, found object sculptures, stop motion video, recycled art, and more. Whatever the activity, we invite children to co-create their experience, thereby allowing them to reach a deeper level of engagement than they would in a more traditional learning environment.

Presented as an iterative process, our instructors motivate learners to try new things and take risks in their pursuit of creativity. Activities highlight the creative process and our instructors serve to guide each child in the discovery of their own creative identity. The combination of physical engagement in the environment with intellectual engagement in a creative activity results in a fully immersive creative experience at SPARK!

SPARK! is dedicated to supporting other Dallas non-profits and works in collaboration with a variety of organizations to ensure that the low-income community has access to the creative programs and environment we offer.

We believe creativity is a language to be learned and that the best way to instill creativity in children is full creative immersion. SPARK! has 11,000 square feet of fully immersive creative space for exploration and discovery. Part of the interactive and unique environment of SPARK! includes a Climb, Crawl, Slide Sculpture that gets children physically engaged and gets creative juices flowing. Made out of recycled and repurposed materials, the sculpture spans 6,000 feet and climbs 26 feet toward the ceiling. Children can scale up a capsized ship, walk over wavy bridges of car hoods, crawl through rebar tubing, glide down spiral slides, climb across a 200 sq. ft. spider web suspended 18 feet off the ground, construct a Lego cityscape, design on a “Giant Light Bright," and have their own jam session with the 14-piece percussion circle. Exploring the environment gets the children's adrenaline pumping and jump-starts the creative learning process.

Creative programs are developed and executed by our team of instructors. All SPARK! instructors are practicing creative professionals who earn their living in their creative discipline. Each brings a wealth of knowledge and experience along with the passion for their discipline. Instructors serve to guide children through the discovery of their creative identity, leading to an increase in their self-definition as creative individuals.

SPARK! was founded in 2010 by Beverly Davis, Devon Davis, and Amy Hite. Inspired by the City Museum in St. Louis, the founders' vision is to bring a similar but expanded facility to Dallas. Beginning in August 2014, our team of local creative experts, architects, sculptors, and engineers worked together to transform the sub-basement of the historic South Side on Lamar building into a wildly imaginative and interactive environment for children to discover and explore their own creativity. SPARK! officially opened in June 2015.

Each year more than 15,000 children discover and explore their creativity by engaging in SPARK! programs. Current programs include: group field trips, week-long camps, family days, and afterschool programs.

The future vision of SPARK! is an expanded facility that will allow us to be open to the public year-round and serve a greater student population. The permanent SPARK! facility will house 12 creative studios where local creative experts will conduct both introductory and in-depth classes within their specific disciplines. Children will be able to sign-up to learn any of dozens of individual creative disciplines that will boost confidence in their creative abilities, build self-esteem, and increase problem solving skills, preparing them for future career successes.