Sydney G. detailed how the distribution of weight around a fulcrum she made out of Legos can make the load seem lighter or heavier. "Lots of things can be used as fulcrums: nail clippers, spoons." She, along with her classmates in Amy Baker's 3rd grade at Beye, has come to understand these force-and-motion concepts through OPEF's Geared Up program. With Geared Up, the students use Legos to get a hands-on experience of some concepts in their 3rd-grade science curriculum.

The students were now moving on to building cars, cars that had a flywheel on top so the students could later measure how far their vehicles can travel. Working in teams of two, one team built the car while the other team built the flywheel component. Robert L. explained how the wheels and a rubber band help the flywheel move. He said, "We're kind of learning science, but it's fun." Ben W. added, "The Legos help you understand it better."

Once the students built their cars, it was time to test their mettle. This involved 4 trials--changing the variables of weight and wheel size in each trial. The students really had to focus on distance and not speed and to closely watch how many rotations the flywheel made. One rotation equals one meter of travel. First the students had to predict how far the car would go in each trial and then record their actual findings--applying scientific method to their exploration.

After sending her team's car down the ramp, Nicole J. observed that "with a weight on it, it goes farther because I think the weight is kind of pushing it." Later, when the class was discussing their findings with facilitator and Geared Up Coordinator Gretchen Junker, Josh C. pointed out that it's gravity that makes the car go down and "weight adds to the gravity."

One team, Kalem H. and Beau G., tried putting the big and small wheels side-by-side and discovered that the distribution of the weight caused the car to turn instead of making it go farther. In the end, the class determined that the combination of a weight, big wheels in back, and small wheels in front was the most effective design because the larger wheels reduce friction and the weight increases the gravitational pull. Ms. Baker compared it to the Olympic bobsled racers.

Ms. Baker explained later that "the Legos make learning fun for the kids. They think they are playing in school!" In terms of the Lego connection to the science curriculum, she added, "It is also beneficial to have kids get the lesson one more time and really secure the concept in their heads."

Mrs. Baker's class will continue to work on Geared Up projects throughout October. Click here to see a slideshow from Ms. Baker's class.



 

With a color photo of the Beijing Water Cube as a guide, Promise A. was recreating the Olympic structure in her sketchpad. Noticing that the lines on either side of the structure were equal, she was working on creating the right perspective and angle.

Promise and her classmates in Ms. Raia's 5th grade art classes at Longfellow are creating their own renditions of famous structures from around the world, with the added bonus of having 2 local architects in the room, along with Ms. Raia, to consult as they grapple with depth, detail, color, shape, and perspective.

Tom Bassett-Dilley and Rosanne McGrath are visiting Ms. Raia's class this month as part of OPEF's Architecture Adventure program. Last week, Adrienne McMullen, architect and Architecture Adventure program coordinator, gave the 5th graders a slide presentation of various famous structures from around the world after which they chose one structure to sketch. On this particular day, Mr. Bassett-Dilley was sharing his own sketch book with the students to give them a sense of the process--the sketches of scenes or buildings, the sketches of details, the trial-and-error aspect of sketching, the use of pencil and the use of color. One student asked, "Do you ever have time to just draw?" and he told them, pointing to his sketch book, "Well, this is it. But I used to do a lot more. I got busy with work and my 2 young kids."

Promise A. liked the fact that the architects are "taking their time to help us and communicate with us and show us how to do it the right way. They told us about what it takes if you want to be an artist--like walking in their shoes to hear how they used to draw and how they draw now."

Sitting across from Promise with her 21st century Water Cube was Jacob S., who chose the Parthenon from ancient Athens. "It was different from all the others. They are all new and modern. I like buildings with columns, that type of architecture, and, well, this has a lot of columns!" He thinks it's "cool" to have the architects come in "since their actual job is architecture--designing real buildings that then have been made."

On the other side of the room, Jannai B. was going through a bit of her own trial and error with her sketch of the Reichstag Dome in Berlin. Ms. Raia was giving her some instructions on the curvature of the lines and reminded Jannai of a project the kids had done a few years ago--"It's like the lines on a pumpkin." This particular building has a sculpture of a cyclone in the middle of it. In trying to figure out how to get that effect, Jannai noticed it was like the center of an angel food cake pan. And then she was off--she had her cyclone! She said she likes nature and likes drawing things in nature and she agreed that a cyclone is certainly part of nature as well.

Other students were recreating a variety of structures from the Gherkin Building in London to the Korean War Memorial in Washington D. C. This latter structure inspired a conversation at the table

about what the Korean War was all about as Hasani C., who likes to draw action figures, carefully replicated the metal images on his sketchpad.

The sketches will be on display at the Oak Park Library in November. Click here to see a slideshow of pictures by Ginger Yarrow.



 

Cecilia W. was impressed with the "smooth" oil pastels, while Sarah S. was learning how best to use her new friends "Hairy" and "Baldy"--the ends of her paintbrush. For the first graders in Kathleen Priceman's Spanish Immersion class at Lincoln School, art and the materials we can use to create art were taking on new significance. Jonathan Franklin, a local artist, is visiting Ms. Priceman's class several times this fall to work with these students on different types of print creations as part of OPEF's Art Start program.

On this particular day, the students were painting butterflies, but with a twist: They were using oil pastels and watercolors together. "I colored it with oil pastels and then I painted it. When you put the watercolors on, it falls off," said Mitch B. This is an effect known as "resistance," Mr. Franklin chimed in, and it creates a sort of shimmer to the painting, an "explosion of colors," as Toby M. put it. Students also folded the butterflies in half to merge the colors and materials further, and, of course, to show the butterflies wings fluttering!

The butterfly project is integrated into the students' unit on nature and habitats. The students went to the Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago where they saw lots of real butterflies. Jackie G. felt that this trip to the Notebaert was part of what makes it "really fun to make art!" and the fact she had never painted with watercolors before.

Later in the year, as part of this Art Start program, the class will visit the Art Institute as well. Ms. Priceman also worked with Mr. Franklin in her class last year, when they created a collage that decorates the corridor outside the now-second-graders' classroom.

Ms. Priceman explained, "These young students are really interested in expressing themselves," and it shows in the variety of colors and patterns the students chose for their butterflies. For Ali G., making the pattern was one of the parts of the project he liked best. "I liked making it look like mountains!"

Mr. Franklin said he chose these materials because the watercolors and the oil pastels are "such a vibrant combination and the resistance is fabulous." He said markers are easy to use "but they are not as versatile as these."

Once the students completed their butterflies, they created hooks from pipe cleaners and skewers so they can be displayed in the classroom. The students were all smiles about displaying their art.

Next week, Mr. Franklin is going to do printmaking with these first graders.

Click here to see a slideshow of photos by Ginger Yarrow.