Through the use of recyclables and repurposed materials, our students have been busy exploring everyday objects in new and inventive ways. We are wrapping up our latest study on Simple/Compound machines. Andrew and the classroom teachers have been exploring catapults. wheeled vehicles, booms and t-cranes. While kids tinker and build with unconventional and recycled materials, they’re learning about sustainability with a focus on the environment and how we can positively impact our planet.
P.S. 154’s Makerspace facilitates maker-centered learning with the aim of students bridging STEM and creative thinking both as individuals and communities. Making chairs, machines and bridges has involved learning and empathizing about their utility and beauty, finding and solving what their design and function amount to in terms of “juicy problems” as well as testing and sharing their iterations and innovations. In each maker unit, a blend of the phases of creativity and design has been charted in student-centered ways emphasizing intrinsic motivation, inquiry and collaboration.