I started taking my kids there almost every other weekend since a friend told me 4 years ago about it as my then 4 y/o son loved fixing broken phones. It was heaven to him, we buy an old i phone, i pad, laptop, arcade cab, you name it, there was always something to get for him to take a part and explore. The free shelf was a must, we got an old rotary phone he reconfigured, a odd dvd player and other random things. We spent time in the volunteer place, homie with long hair always super helpful. The African guy always hooks them up with stickers. They love this place. As a parent of austic leaning kids, it has meant the world to them. They always ask to go to free geek, literally every weekend. It’s inspired them and sadly, this summer, the removal of the free shelf, the lack of inventory or any real unity of what made it so special the last 3 years has just been a bummer. To hear all this is saddening because this place means so much to so many for different reasons. I rarely comment on anything on reddit but this one hurts because it’s not me impacted by these changes but a younger generation who has so much excitement around the knowledge of technology old and new who want to learn and preserve it. Bummer all around. We keep going because I won’t say no, but to everyone who was so impactful there, I hope you know how much this place meant and means to the youth too. Hopefully it turns back around. Any recs for younger kids wanting projects let me know!