Our final weeks we tinkered with Paper Circuits, Lil bits, Makey Makey and finished off with a spagetti marshmallow tower challenge.   Students used the Makey Makeys to create pianos from bell peppers and play guitar hero with a controller/guitar made from cardboard and coins.  Makey Makey can turn any conductive substance into a external keyboard!  Its been a fun and fast quarter, we all wished we had more time in this class.  I will miss these kiddos as they head off to summer and then HS.  

One of our first projects was the Cardboard Challenge!  This is an international program where people are given a certain amount of time and materials to create something out of cardboard. It was inspired by one little boy's creation, Caines Arcade, highly recommend watching the short film. It's fun and creative, but a gentle introduction in designing and building in groups.  We had a lot of fun.  Student's were asked to build something they could "Play".  

4th quarter this year I was thrilled to open the SWMS Maker lab and teach the first Maker Lab exploratory.  This has been a dream of mine for the past two years and it's exciting to see it realized.  We started the class with basic engineering and team work challenges, then moved on to cardboard challenges.  The kids were incredibly engaged, and fun to be around.  This course will help them develop and discover the ability to problem solve, innovate, collaborate, tinker and design.  I'm thrilled to be their guide as we explore engineering, computer science, textiles, woodworking, small engines, crafts, and electronics to name a few.