Collaboratory Corner

Thankful

It's the time of year where schedules get crazy and days seem to fly by.  Between half days, conferences, Thanksgiving break and the buzz of the holidays upon us, it's easy to get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle.  However, it's also a great time for reflection.  I can't help but think back to where we were in our Collaboratory journey last year around this time.  We were just getting started and introducing the students to the magical world of engineering.  Flash forward to a year later and all of our students, even at our youngest grade levels, are already knee deep in some amazing projects.  They are seeing the world in a whole new way, through the eyes of full-fledged engineers with a whole new design thinking mindset.  I couldn't be more proud of the growth I've seen in our students, and I couldn't be more thankful for being provided this incredible opportunity to take this Collaboratory journey with them.  

Take a look at what our engineers have been working on in the Collaboratory!

Our Pre-K engineers were getting into the Thanksgiving spirit by working on an extra special challenge.  The students were challenged to make a sturdy table with the provided materials that could hold our pretend Thanksgiving dinner.  It was not an easy challenge, and the students had to make many improvements to their designs along the way!  I was so proud of the students' perseverance and determination in this challenge.  They never give up when a challenge gets difficult, and although they know when it's time to ask for help, their first instinct is to try and fix their designs themselves, which shows they are developing great independence.

Our kindergarten engineers continued with their  "Designing Bridges" unit by finishing up the intro story:  Javier Builds a Bridge.  They were introduced to the three types of bridges that we will explore in our unit:  beam bridges, arch bridges, and suspension bridges.  The students were even challenged to try and design one of those types of bridges with cardboard, which was a difficult task since we just started discussing them.  However, the students did exactly what I hoped they would:  they worked together and shared ideas between groups so that the whole class could be successful.  I wanted students to experience first-hand that even when a challenge seems impossible, they will always be able to persevere and work through it if they collaborate with their peers and work as a team.

Our first grade optical engineers continued reading the next part of their intro story, Omar's Time to Shine.  The students used what they learned from the story to then explore on their own how sunlight, flashlights, and mirrors can work together to create a lighting system.

Our second grade environmental engineers were busy promoting awareness around Tabernacle about ways our community can conserve water.  This project is just one way that our students will be tackling the global water crisis as we work on our Water Filtration unit.

Our third graders began their Designing Submersibles unit by reading the intro story called Despina Makes a Splash and doing some preliminary research about the ocean and the ocean floor.  They also explored the differences between the jobs of ocean engineers and oceanographers.  

In fourth grade, the students continued working on their "Designing Windmills" unit by finishing up Leif Catches the Wind and diving into a variety of activities that made the students think like mechanical engineers.  They investigated different machines and their parts, keeping in mind which parts might be most useful in designing windmills.  

We are looking forward to continuing these adventures next week!