Facilities · The Void
Eleven by fourteen feet. No clock.
A soft grey room with a bench, a window, and acoustic tile we installed ourselves. Capacity eight. Shoes off at the door.
- Size
- 11 × 14 ft
- Capacity
- 8
- Bench
- One
- Clock
- None
The Void is the room where Nothing happens. It is 11 feet by 14 feet, painted a grey that a nine-year-old picked from three swatches, with one window facing the courtyard, one bench, and no clock. The acoustic tile was installed by staff on a Saturday and is not perfectly aligned, which is the only visible flaw in the room and the thing kids point out most.
Rules
- Shoes off at the door.
- No talking, including whispering.
- No phones, books, homework, or drawing.
- You can leave whenever you want, quietly.
- The door stays unlocked. A closed door would change the room.
Why a room
Because a hallway corner does not work. We tried. The first version of Nothing was a circle of chairs in the library, which lasted three weeks before the library became the loudest room in the building. A room with a door and a rule is a different proposition than a suggestion to be quiet.
The quiet hour
During open studio, the Void is available to any enrolled kid, not just Nothing students. Staff keep a count and a timer. Kids can stay for one session, then they have to go do something with their hands. The room is not a place to hide for an afternoon, and the staff are trained to notice the difference between a kid who needs quiet and a kid who needs help.
I did not understand it until I sat in it. I am not going to explain it to you either. That would ruin it.
Sit in it
Tuesdays 5–6, Hawthorne. Shoes off, no talking, no clock. Stay as long as you like.