April in the Library

SK Water Walker Project

April brought the culmination of the Senior Kindergarten "Water Walker" project, focusing on the roles of water in our lives, the importance of protecting our water, and the work of Nakomis Josephine Mandamin. You can watch a video presentation on the project below.

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3rd Grade "L" Project

This month in the Library, third grade students studied the history and origins of the Chicago Elevated Train system and the public transportation system as a whole. This project continued the students’ year long study of innovation and “looking to the past to inspire the future.” In addition to the origin and history of the system, students learned why it is important for a community to be provided transportation and easy access to the system. The third graders looked at primary source documents, websites of the various transit systems, and information on the development of the train system in Chicago. Working in pairs, the students used TinkerCAD to design a 3d printable structure to hold elevated Lego train tracks. Once they were printed, the three classrooms used the structures to build representations of each major "L" line on top of a map of the city. They will go on to analyze and locate transportation "deserts" and propose solutions for the future of the city.

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IS Maker Fridays

During March and April, students in the Intermediate School were invited to come into the Library's TIDES Garage and work on building an analog pinball machine. Using PinBox3000 kits, students utilized both soft and hard maker skills ranging from decorating with paint and glitter to designing and 3D printing components to create their own, personalized machines.