Straight from Israel

When I got the assignment to write a story about the GrooveTech during my recent trip to Israel, I replied, “Happy to - as long as it’s near ‘my’ bomb shelter.” One of my goals for this trip was to see the bomb shelter painting that I had dedicated to my family.  I explained that I had one day to see the bomb shelter and tour the GrooveTech, and if that was logistically possible, great. 

I loved that Jewish National Fund-USA offers donors the opportunity to fund the custom painting of bomb shelters by an artist in Israel to the donor’s specifications, turning intimidating concrete bomb shelters into works of art, transforming the frightening into the fanciful. The decoration makes their presence much more tolerable for families and children who live with the constant threat of having to run to one. It’s not uncommon to see kids, adults, residents, and tourists posing in front of these beautifully painted shelters.   

The shelter I sponsored had recently been completed. When we approached the GrooveTech parking lot, I was told to close my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I was startled to see a really impressive modern building that was GrooveTech. And then I was told to turn around. And right behind me, on the other side of the GrooveTech parking lot, was my bomb shelter with David Ben Gurion doing a headstand on the beach! Talk about a rock-star location!  

That said, let’s turn back around and focus on the GrooveTech. 

GrooveTech is a stunning multi-disciplined, fully immersive educational center in the Eshkol region that focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) in a way that’s inclusive and joyful.  

The Eshkol region is in the Gaza corridor. Following a launch alert, residents have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter.  

Having a place where kids and the community can gather, learn, create and have fun, all within a very safe environment, is essential. So, when leaders in the Eshkol Region spoke to Jewish National Fund-USA about creating an indoor playground, they were told to “dream bigger.” And that’s been what they’ve been told every step of the way. That kind of thinking attracted NASA to partner with them, taking its stature to the highest level. After years of envisioning, discussing needs and best-case scenarios with the community, researching, designing, and constructing, the result is GrooveTech.  

A mouth-dropping tour of the facility includes a TV production studio with a green screen, a state-of-the-art teaching kitchen with induction ranges (cooktops), an agriculture and desert lab, a coding room, a “makers studio” with 3-D printers and laser cutting equipment, a fortified safe room complete with virtual reality headsets so that even in an alert situation attendees can be learning with laughter, and a planetarium armed with a fleet of telescopes so after the show, observers can go outside and observe the sky for themselves.  

At GrooveTech, area residents ages 4-99 participate. Residents pay a small fee to participate in the activities, so they appreciate the value. Special programs encourage girls to love STEAM and all kids to socialize while learning. All of this had so many unforeseen benefits - like when they created a gaming area, intended to be a way to introduce kids who usually isolate themselves in front of a computer or game station at home, to the GrooveTech. They found that those kids love coming in to play, especially with other kids. The gaming room has become a prominent social hub for kids who previously limited their social interaction.   

GrooveTech is led by women. All women. Director Limor Eilat, and Maydan Peleg, Head of STEAM Education Center at Eshkol, beam with pride when talking about how every detail of the experience was painstakingly deliberate - from the chairs in each area that were specifically selected to enhance learning and engagement to the living green wall in the auditorium space. They also insisted that all the staff be from the Eshkol region because they’re the most invested in its success. “We want Jewish National Fund-USA to know that what they gave – we’re making the best of it,” says Maydan. 

Their goal has always been to make Jewish National Fund-USA proud. To dream big and deliver more. To make sure that they followed through and provided the people of the Eshkol region with the most amazing facility that they could imagine. Maydan told me, “Jewish National Fund-USA gave us the best present they could give – and we’re going to make them proud.” Trust me; they’ve made and continue to make Jewish National Fund-USA proud. 

Written by Jackie Goldstein, Chair of Women For Israel, Atlanta