Rube Goldberg Machines | Makers Lab

We began creating Rube Goldberg machines after the winter break. The students learned about chain reactions and we set them loose! Here is one of our teams with their finished project!

FAB Day | Part 2

Our students are thriving in the Makers Lab. Creativity is abounding and students are digging into the challenges presented. To kick it up a notch, we decided to hold a one-day school-wide event. 

FAB Day was born! FAB, short for fabrication, allowed students to explore their interests while creating a wild array of projects. Here is a glimpse of what we did!

Creating a Lego town.

Choreographing a new dance routine.

Puppetry fun!

FAB Day | Part 1

Our students are thriving in the Makers Lab. Creativity is abounding and students are digging into the challenges presented. To kick it up a notch, we decided to hold a one-day school-wide event. 

FAB Day was born! FAB, short for fabrication, allowed students to explore their interests while creating a wild array of projects. Here is a glimpse of what we did!

Students explore PVC Construction.

Making strawberry smoothies.

Setting up a tent...while blindfolded!

Aquaponics in the Classroom

One of our biggest challenges was starting our aquaponics program in the Makers Lab. Our tilapia have stabilized and are growing well. We are growing broccoli, but unfortunately, it is not growing as well as we had hoped at this point.

We will continue to tweak our methods to see if we can get some fresh school-grown veggies!

Cardboard & Duct Tape Boats

Earlier this fall we enjoyed designing these cardboard and duct tape boats in our Makers Lab. We even had a race and put the boats to test in Friess Lake!

We were honored to be featured in the West Bend Daily News.

Craft Stick Truss Bridges

We have been having so much fun in our new Maker Lab this year. The kids are going crazy with building. One that we had a lot of fun with was a craft stick truss bridge. I find that getting the students excited about a project will instantaneously bolster their creativity. The bridges are a perfect example.

We started with a simple 46-stick bridge like this one.

After building we decided to try it out! How much can the bridge hold? Two soup cans were just a bit too much weight for this bridge...

Then we decided to give a life-sized 12-foot bridge a try! You can drive past our school and see it for yourself!

Do you want to try the craft stick truss bridge out at home or in your classroom? I just posted a tutorial at my TeachersPayTeachers Store with full color instructions for just $1.99. Click here to check it out!

Monarch Butterfly Fun

My grandson held still just long enough for a Monarch to land!

Did you know that you can grow your own Monarch butterflies? I recently had a friend who showed me how. I think it is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the butterfly life cycle in the classroom. Not only is it educational, it's hands-on and really amazing to see the transformation from egg to adult butterfly!

Check out my new learning guide to Growing Monarch Butterflies in your Classroom!