It’s a little past 2 on a weekday afternoon. The Dr. Mariano Elia Hands-On Centre is now closed for the day, and Zavette Quadros, an AGO education officer working with the Centre, has begun to tidy up.

She is distracted by a tiny thump on the far side of the glass wall behind her. A toddler has his hands pressed imploringly to the glass, tears streaking down his face as his mother tries gently to lead him away.

“They hate to leave,” she says, with a sympathetic smile.

Could client approval be any stronger than that?

The Centre first opened in 1992 as a dedicated, stand-alone space, but the program had been offered on a weekend/holiday basis for at least a decade before that. Much has evolved over the years, but the core purpose has remained constant.

“We’re here for babies to 5-year-olds and their care-givers,” explains Lorrie Ann Smith, who manages all AGO programming for young audiences, “We give them a place to learn about art through play.”

It’s all very hands-on, just like the name says. The Centre bursts with toys and puzzles and costumes and building blocks and modelling materials so the youngsters can build things, make things, touch things and dress up to their hearts’ content. There is also story-telling on Fridays, and (weekend only) brief visits into the Gallery itself for the older children.

“I love that the toys are so non-prescriptive,” says Zavette, who frames her face with a few of the building blocks to illustrate her point.

She spies a fantasy creature, composed of click-together discs, and starts to laugh. “You see? The children can really use their imaginations.”

The activity program changes each month, to ensure that repeat visitors – and there are many – regularly have something new to enjoy. Typically, the program is focused around a current major exhibition.

The Centre normally runs with 1 staff member and 1 volunteer on weekdays, adding a second volunteer on the weekend and boosting staff/volunteer numbers yet again for special events and holidays.

Volunteer Laura Tam is relatively new to the AGO: she joined us in April of this year. When she learned about the range of volunteer opportunities at the Gallery, she knew she wanted to join the Centre.

“It’s so much fun,” she says. “The atmosphere is so positive, we get so much energy from the kids.”

She scoops up a few more books to put back on the shelves. “I’m having a blast!”