summer of making part 1

I decided to follow my heart this summer, and to focus on making things with kids.  Now I could have chosen to make jam or pickles, or felt wool bowls, all of which would have been so very enjoyable and satisfying.  But I chose to stretch myself further, and decided to build a structure - with 5-11 year olds.  With power tools.  And what crazy fun it was.   First I built a model, working with my daughter, to test things out; from design to process to engineering.

I was teaching at the amazing CAMP 510, along with many other talented maker/artist teachers.  We had 3 groups a day, with a total of 60 kids working on each project.  In my class, day one was filled with onsite testing (to see what size the structure would ideally be) and model making using balsa wood and cardboard.  And pins - an approximation of nails.  The kids learned about why bolts are better connectors than nails in the most hands-on way, as their pins popped out.  They learned about basic structural design, and on their own came up with how triangular braces can make a frame more rigid and strong.

Then we moved to full scale building.  We used donated varied length lumber, which meant that the math calculations were even more interesting - e.g. 11' 3 3/8" divided by 4.  The kids did it all: measuring, drilling, sawing, and screwing in those bolts.  Many girls joined me during lunchtime to help work on the project.  We did all the assembly on tables or the ground; including the slightly sloped (as students determined it needed to be) corrugated metal roof.  Using a level and string, we set concrete post bases in a square, and then added column base hardware.  And then we erected the frames, and they actually fit!  How empowering it was.

The roof was raised, with the help of many counselors.  As the structure was a shelter for a kid-built cob pizza oven, on the last day we built work counters on the side.  It all came together, as though it was all meant to be.