REDLANDS, Calif. — Walking through the Creative Learning Lab doors in Redlands is like walking into a home away from home. 

For Dennis Wolbert and his kindergartner son Henry, it's a place they're happy to have now more than ever. 

"Even though [Henry] comes a few days a week, that's not a problem to anyone here," said Wolbert. "He still feels like the most important kid in the room when he walks through those doors."

Inside the doors — which are closed off to all parents, as an extended safety protocol — lies the Garner Holt Productions Education Through Imagination wing. 

It's a day camp and after school program where children, like Henry, from throughout the San Bernardino community are given a workstation to distance learn and participate in other STEAM activities. Each has a 5-foot by 7-inches rug to make all their own. 

For both kids and parents, the space has been a godsend in a year that has been difficult, and they are still adjusting to a remote learning environment. 

"Henry was in full-day preschool for the past two years," said Wolbert. "He has been with kids every day. This year, he started kindergarten, and he said, 'Dad, when do I get to go meet my friends?'"

Here he has been able to meet his friends in person and socialize safely with other kids his age while learning. 

The space was made for just that, allowing Garner Holt Productions to continue serving the community during the pandemic. 

That was the idea behind the creative learning lab, a new adventure for Garner Holt, and a means of adapting during the pandemic. 

"When the pandemic hit in March, we lost all of our school field trips," said Sarah Emerson, the team's director at Creative Learning. "As we were starting to think about our own children and what the needs of the community were, we realized we could utilize the space." 

Instead of hosting field trips, the space now holds personalized pods and creates individual work schedules for students. 

"They are each enrolled in their own public or private schools, have their teacher, all of their own individual requirements," she said. "Then they come here, we learn about them, and we customize a program." 

It's a program that is not only fun for kids but safe. Desks are spaced six feet apart, masks are worn during most activities, the room is sanitized several times per day, and temperature checks are conducted at the door. 

Even with that long list of protocols, it's still been something new and exciting for every kid involved. 

"It makes them feel really comfortable and excited even though school looks so different for them this year," said Emerson.

"It's been very hard on Henry," echoed Wolbert. "So, this is a nice welcome change, getting to interact with other kids."

It is a place where kids can socialize with their friends and keep the magic of learning alive in a unique way.