MakerSpace Update

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.

Prospect Park Enrichment

Last week, we started a collaboration with Brooklyn Nature Days. Our first graders ventured to the Nethermead in Prospect Park to explore and investigate.  The sun was hiding and the weather was damp and chilly, but the children were all smiles as the BND crew led the group in an educational and fun filled morning. The children had an opportunity to take their current science curriculum and apply it in the field by searching and digging for plants (leaves, dandelions, and mountains of onion grass), animals (worms, grubs, and slugs) and other natural materials (rocks, sticks, and mud) while also exploring light and sound.  They ran, explored, and were eager to get their hands dirty and their minds going. They worked together, filled their buckets, shared their findings, and asked important questions.  Big thank you to Regina C. for connecting us with BND!

Chair Design Challenge

On Friday, at the second and third grade assembly we tested out the chairs that the classes created in the PS154 Makerspace. Over the past few weeks, students have designed and built chairs using cardboard, tape and fabric. They were challenged with building a piece of furniture strong enough to hold the like of Mr. Buckley and myself. The challenge was accepted and the chairs made it through unscathed! *(We will test the chair designs from the remaining grades very soon).