At the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center on Saturday, kids from Generation Z put down their tablets and cellphones and stopped text messaging and emailing to go back in time to the 1900s, when a typewritten letter was often used as a way to communicate.

Simon Kiefer, a self-described typewriter enthusiast and writing coach, in collaboration with the center, hosted the first free typewriting workshop for kids and parents, in honor of environmental activist and preservationist Kathleen Goddard Jones, who began a letter-writing campaign urging public agencies during the 1950s and '60s to save the Guadalupe Dunes.

"Today, we're encouraging kids to write letters on vintage typewriters to either family members or people in the community, whether it's a thank-you note or even a letter to their future self," Kiefer said. "I firmly believe it's important for people to get away from their screens. (They) shouldn't always be locked into their cellphone or computer.