Egg Basket Building Challenge

I worked with the kindergartners this afternoon on an Easter egg design challenge. They were tasked with building a basket that can hold 5 plastic eggs using the least amount of materials. They were only allowed to use craft sticks, paper clips, pipe cleaners, rubber bands, yarn, or index cards. The tricky part was finding a way to build this basket without the use of glue or tape. They started with a sketch of their idea then had to count how many of each item they would need to build their basket. Once they had a plan, they needed to get into a group of 3 to share their idea and then as a group choose one idea to build or create an entirely new idea using multiple ideas. Once an idea was chosen, students gathered materials and started building. It was a struggle for some groups as they went through the design process and needed to improve their design when they realized how difficult their design would be to build without tape. Some groups decided to change their idea in the midst of this realization and start with a whole new plan. I loved seeing the variation in designs from plan to product and watching their thinking in action. True engineering at work!

These are the baskets students created. You can see the thinking that went into designing these amazing creations.

5th Graders & Green Screen

Mrs. Hiraki's 5th graders are creating videos to depict the events leading up to the American Revolution. Some groups requested a green screen backdrop while others got situated on the play structure or grassy courtyard as their setting. All groups worked well together in directing each other to capture their scenes.

6th Grade Visitation Activity

This week we welcomed the students who were accepted as 6th graders for the 2019-2020 school year. As many may still be making their final decision whether to attend 'Iolani School or not, the admissions team offers these students the opportunity to visit our campus with a current 'Iolani 6th grader as their host for the day. Visitors accompany their host to their classes during the day and spend a period with me in the Design Lab. Visitors designed luggage tags to keep as a souvenir to remember their visit and had the chance to play with littleBits and LEGO sets until their host came to pick them up for their next class. They drew out their design on a sheet of paper, which was later scanned into Inkscape, then laser cut onto wood. I hope they enjoyed their time here on campus and for those that decide that 'Iolani is the right fit, I look forward to working with them in the fall!

Grade 3 Spacecraft 3D

I had so much fun subbing for Mrs. Warner's third grade science classes today. The third graders are learning about space, so what better way to learn than explore with the Spacecraft 3D app! Using a printed AR Target and the camera on their iPads, students got up close with these robotic explorers. They could interact with the many engineering feats that we use to expand our knowledge and understanding of space! Students will be designing and building their own Space Exploration Vehicle (SEV) in the coming weeks. While utilizing the augmented reality and realistic animations, they were inspired to include features of existing vehicles in their own design while thinking about its function and purpose. I can't wait to see how they incorporate some of these features in their design.

Kindergarten Self-Portraits

I had the opportunity to support the kindergartners of K-Leahi today on wooden self-portraits. Mrs. Hirata started the lesson with having students discuss and share what facial features they think should be included in their self-portrait. After listing the features on the board, students chose a piece of wood they wanted to use as their face and went to work choosing the right pieces to create their facial features. Some students designed fancy eyelashes, while others strategically chose specific shapes to create their eyes and hair. This was such a creative activity for students to express their inner artist and I am so grateful to have been part of it.

6th Grade Math & Minecraft Education

I had the opportunity to work on a 6th grade math lesson using Minecraft Edu alongside Mr. Yanagihara, a knowledgeable and talented educator who has various roles in the Upper School. Since the 6th graders have been learning about surface area and perimeter, the math teachers wanted to implement an extension activity utilizing the popular Minecraft gaming platform. Students designed a zoo enclosure with specific dimensions that they needed to recreate digitally in the Minecraft world. Mr. Y explained the basic tools and features and before we knew it the students were off carefully creating their enclosures. It was incredible to witness their 2D drawings come to life in a 3D digital world.

4th Graders Explore littleBits

Today the fourth graders explored the magic and discovered endless possibilities with littleBits! littleBits are electronic building blocks that snap together magnetically. We watched this video to get an idea of what littleBits are, how they work, and what they can do then quickly got started in our exploration. They were so excited to start playing and it was fun to see them arrange the blocks in various combinations.

Grade 6 Medieval Faire

Sixth graders have been working tirelessly as they learned about their role during the medieval times era. Many students visited the lab over the last 6 weeks to design and create props for their role. Projects ranged from signage for the herbalists to game board pieces for the game players. One student used Keynote to design a spinning wheel that was used for the actors' performance of Rumplestiltskin. I loved being able to see all the pieces come together at this year's Medieval Faire. The students were very articulate and energetic as they eagerly shared all that they learned about their role. I particularly enjoyed how patient and enthusiastic they were as they interacted with the younger students and guests. Marvelous work 6th graders & all who were involved with making this event such a huge success!

Grade 2 Families Are Forever

Second graders learned about their heritage and families through research and interviews. The decision was made to enhance the Families Are Forever program this year by incorporating and showcasing multiple pieces of student work. I had the opportunity to work with students on their green screen videos and stamp-making projects. Students chose a background image that represented a part of their country research that they later inserted themselves into using the Doink Green Screen app on their iPads. I enjoyed watching their inner performer come alive as they creatively posed themselves in front of the screen. In addition to their movie-making skills, each country group also needed to design a stamp that would be used for the passport portion of the program. As families toured the galleries (being escorted by their knowledgeable 2nd grade docent), they could stamp their passport to indicate they have "visited" and learned about that country. Students drew a design that represented their country on a 1.5" circle which was later scanned and imported to Inkscape. We used the "exclusion" feature to raster the negative space on thick foam, resulting in a one-of-a-kind hand-made stamp. To complete the finished product, I found a stamp handle template online that I modified to fit the stamps students had created. This program was a huge success and I'm so incredibly proud of the entire production team and the amazing talented second graders.

These are some examples of the passport stamps that were strategically placed around the country displays.

Second graders had the opportunity to guide their fourth grade buddy around the displays during the dress rehearsal.

The families of the class of 2029 experienced the newly improved Families are Forever program.

Kindergarten Spinning Top

I assisted K-Leahi in their classroom this afternoon as students worked on designing and building a spinning top using craft sticks, bottle caps, chopsticks, thick poster board, and toilet paper rolls. Students experimented with balance while they tested various sizes, height, and weight of objects to see what could improve the spin. It was remarkable to see how each student interacted with the different materials and what they chose to do with them. It was so much fun watching them explore, play, and build as they tested out their designs.

Kinders working through the design process as they build and test their tops for optimum spinning efficiency.

Okinawan Exchange Students

I had the opportunity to work with some high school juniors from Okinawa today. Since I only had a short time with them, I decided to show them how to make their own stickers using the Sketches School app and Cricut Design Space. They loved being able to watch their design get cut out on the Cricut. As an added bonus, I made them a personalized "aloha" keychain. I hope they enjoyed their visit to our lower school Design Lab.

Grade 1 Social Event

The Office of Admissions held a special social event for the accepted grade 1 students. These students were deferred from entering kindergarten this school year as the new K-1 Community is being built. These families have the choice to stay at the school their child is currently attending or join 'Iolani's class of 2031 as first graders in our new K-1 classrooms for the 2019-2020 school year. As a way to introduce them to the Design Lab, we decided to do a quick Engineering lesson using LEGO blocks and teddy bear counters. "Constructioneers" were tasked with building a bridge that spans enough distance for a family of 5 bears to cross a raging river together. Each table had a "river" made out of blue paper, a container of teddy bears, and a pile of LEGO blocks. As an added constraint, a 3D printed boat also needed to be able to fit safely under their bridge and they needed to think about how the bear family would be able to climb up their bridges as well. I was so impressed by the creativity and thoughtful imagination of each bridge design. 🌉

Grade 6 Inkscape Review

I had the opportunity to work in the 6th grade science classrooms this week. Students are learning about Medieval times and are tasked with constructing a catapult that can launch a clay ball from various distances. They have already sketched a design and prototyped it from cardboard, so I provided a quick lesson on how to transfer their design to Inkscape so that their catapult pieces could be laser cut out of wood. It was a wonderful experience as I watched them measure their prototype for accurate dimensions, work together to problem solve design flaws, and put in immense effort to recreate their pieces digitally.

This student is designing one part of the catapult in Inkscape.

By adding a hole to his design, this student plans to insert a dowel through it when it is time to assemble the pieces together.

Catapult pieces fresh from the laser cutter.