The da Vinci Club

   The daVinci Club is made up of North End boys and girls, ages 9 to 16 who participate in innovative projects that require ingenuity, individual and group leadership, and skill building. Thus far, the daVinci's have: 1) 2002: built a house (Dream House Project) using the same process, start to finish, as would be used in a commercial construction project; 2) 2003 and 2004: written, directed, produced, and performed in two 30-minute video documentary (Inside the North End: A Community Profile and The North End: Then and Now); and 3) 2005: daVinci's Amazing Rowing Machine, a 30-foot catamaran designed and built by the club and a competitor in the CT River Raft Race and winner of the mayor's trophy in the 2005 Memorial Day Parade; and 4) 2005: sculpture project; a model of the North End landfill and watershed made out of completely recycled objects and depicting a goal of environmental reclamation.

The Dream House Project was the subject of an article (click here) appearing in the New York Times. The videogaphy projects have received extensive exposure at municipal, educational, and public events including the Redevelopment Agency. The boat-building project received extensive community collaboration and attention, and participation. The Junior da Vinci's sculpture project won the "best use of recycled content" award at a community competition in November of 2005. To enquire about membership in The da Vinci Club, please call the NEAT office at 860-346-4845. This club is restricted to residents of the North End.

 

Click here to learn more about The Dream House Project

Click here to learn more about the Inside the North End series and watch a sample clip from the first documentary, Inside the North End: A Community Profile

Click here to learn more about the Boat Building Project

 
NEAT is a non-profit (501©(3) organization and receives financial and in kind support from Liberty Bank Foundation, the American Savings Foundation, Middlesex County Community Foundation, the City of Middletown (CDBG), the Haymarket People's Fund, the Community Health Center, Wesleyan University, Citizens Bank, and private donations.

North End Action Team, 33 Ferry St. , Middletown, CT 06457 (860)346-4845, fax: (860)704-8533, email: neat@neatmiddletown.org