Innovation Barn

Looking for a fun, free, and educational experience the whole family can enjoy? Join us at the Innovation Barn for an exciting hands-on adventure where school aged kids and their grown-ups can learn how to Recycle Right in Mecklenburg County! Families will explore the 7 Rs of sustainability through interactive games, creative crafts like making badges from recycled materials, and a tour of our engaging exhibits. At the end of the session, your young eco-hero will earn their official “Deputy of Diversion” certificate—and your whole family will leave feeling inspired to take action for a greener planet! Please arrive 10-15 minutes before the class start time to make sure you have enough time to get checked in and settled. Classes will start on time.

Turn old textiles into festive, seasonal wreaths using fun, creative reuse techniques—crafting beauty while giving materials a second life! This is a drop in event, come by between 1-3pm to participate. Registration is required in advance. Supplies included.

Repair Cafés are free meeting places all about repairing things (together). At a Repair Café you’ll find volunteers with repair skills in all kinds of fields as well as tools. Our coaches will work with you to repair your broken item (if possible). Repair Café does have some replacement parts but not all. If we find that a specialty part is needed, we may have the guest order it so we can perform the replacement at a future event. Repair café does not work on dangerous or hazardous items (No firearms, microwaves, nuclear reactors, etc.) Our coaches have experience fixing items but are NOT specialists. For highly specialized repairs (like fixing torn paintings) we recommend reaching out to a specialist. Some goals of Repair Café are to educate in basic repair, reduce items going to the landfill, and promote the “right to repair” concept. Repair Café Intl. started in Amsterdam 2009 and currently there are over 3000 Repair cafes are worldwide The first Repair Café Charlotte was on Feb 17th 2024. We have 6 events scheduled for 2026. These events are hosted at the Innovation Barn (Innovation Barn - Envision Charlotte) on certain Saturdays 10am - 2pm

Make eco-friendly gift wrap using paper bags, newspaper, or old t-shirts—a fun, creative way to reuse materials and wrap with style! This is a drop in event, come by between 1-3pm to participate. Registration is required in advance. Supplies included.