Jonathan Markowitz Bijur, the executive director of Rediscover Center, is a professional tinkerer. A Yale University graduate, Bijur is passionate about three key areas of tinkering.
“I tinker with my sourdough pizza dough every Friday night for my kids,” Bijur said. “I also tinker with the programs I teach, constantly learning and incorporating tinkering into Rediscover’s organizational DNA. And I tinker with stuff—unafraid to take apart furniture or my KitchenAid mixer when something’s rattling. It’s satisfying.”
Since 2014, under Bijur’s leadership, Rediscover has enabled 14,000 kids annually to tinker with recycled materials at its Venice location and a new spot in Mid-City. The center also promotes child-centered maker education in Los Angeles schools. Originally from New York, Bijur moved to Los Angeles in 2010 after working with museums and libraries in Boston. He holds a Master of Library Science from Simmons University and has experience at MIT combining art, engineering, and sustainability. Upon moving to LA, Bijur, initially a stay-at-home dad, discovered Rediscover Center, fell in love with it, and started volunteering.
In summer, Rediscover Center transforms into Tinkering Camp, a program Bijur helped launch 14 years ago. “It’s a room full of kids, lumber, recycled materials, and power tools. Over the week, they turn it into big ideas,” he said. One year, the kids created a rideable roller coaster, only to disassemble it later for reuse.
“We teach them that materials come from somewhere, like a tree or mine. Unless used responsibly, they end up in landfills or incinerators. They learn to make sustainable decisions,” Bijur explained. The center receives donated materials from households, businesses, and local industries. In the Cardboard Playground program, kids transform refrigerator boxes, carpet tubes, and fabric into new creations.
“We ask the kids, ‘What can you turn this into?’ They use the materials to create something new, without following anyone else’s ideas,” Bijur said. He has seen many surprising and creative works of art over the years. “Sometimes it’s a big castle with secret passages and escape rooms, and sometimes it’s small. Lately, fake food like sushi and popcorn made from other materials has been popular. It’s always surprising, and I love it.”
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A self-professed math nerd, Bijur grew up wanting to write, act, make music, create art, and be a scientist. He aimed for a career combining as many interests as possible. “I was a kid who always needed something in my hands,” Bijur said. “There were no fidget spinners in the ’80s and ’90s. In graduate school, I attended neurodiversity training and realized that kids who need a pipe cleaner in their hands to focus better aren’t trying to mess with their teacher. They just need something to help them think and work.”
Rediscover’s mission is to be a haven for kids like Bijur. Celebrating its 20th year, Rediscover is open after school and on weekends, hosting field trips, homeschool groups, and summer camps. They bring maker education into Los Angeles schools, where students have shown longer attention spans and higher attendance in maker programs.
“I see kids who feel nervous when they first arrive,” Bijur said. “Then they do something with their hands, tinker, take things apart, and put them back together. They realize their ideas can turn into something real.”
“We are a small and growing organization,” Bijur added. “Twenty years is a nice milestone, but LA County has millions of students. Our goal is to bring maker education to every child in LA County, so we have a lot of work to do.”