Starting in September, Burlington shoppers will be able to buy games, puzzles, teddy bears and hands-on STEM toys at a new downtown gift shop, the Tinkering Turtle. All proceeds will support science education and the ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. The store will also feature a Vermont Teddy Bear design studio, where visitors can craft their own teddy bears.
The Tinkering Turtle is a collaboration between Vermont Teddy Bear and Burlington’s lakefront science center. ECHO’s director of sales and guest services, Kelsey VonDerLinn, said the organization is “thrilled” to be opening the store with the Shelburne bear maker. “This has been a dream of ours for many years and we are enthusiastic about it coming to fruition,” he said in a press release.
In the same release, Vermont Teddy Bear CEO Bill Shouldice noted that the company got its start as a cart on the Church Street Marketplace. “I’m very pleased to be returning to downtown Burlington,” he said.
The Tinkering Turtle will occupy a retail space at 210 College Street that formerly housed Chop Shop Hair Design, which moved to South Burlington. An opening celebration is planned for September 23.
This article was originally published in Seven Days’ monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
This article appears in Kids VT, Fall 2023.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
