Flying Dragons - Week 4
Our dragons may not be flying quite yet, but they took a giant leap forward today!
The “riding above” team completed their frame/seat. The pieces fit together perfectly thanks to the team’s careful measurements. It may be the smallest of the dragons, but it will be exciting to ride on its back as it flies down the zip line which will be almost 80 feet long!
This team is a picture of awesome collaboration at work. They took turns helping each other hold down wood while the other drilled, they generously shared their tools, and they made sure everyone’s ideas were heard. They’re so organized, they even started planning next weeks task list all on their own!
The “riding under” team also made lots of progress. They completed their roof frame, cut out the roof and began attaching it all together. It was so exciting for Asher and Adele to finally get to use the jig saw too! Adele was nervous at first and wanted to wait before trying it out. At Tinkering School using a particular tool is always optional and we never pressure any kids to use them. We do gently encourage kids to face their fear and reassure them that we will be watching them and making sure they’re safe. As a result, we have witnessed countless moments of kids exclaiming “that was fun!!!” after moments before feeling too nervous to touch a saw or tool. Kids are more capable than they know and were on a mission to provide opportunities and experiences for them to discover just that :)
Calder helps August attach the supports to connect the sides of the head to make it “3D”. The head will eventually be attached to the neck and frame. Its going to be a very large dragon!
Daphne tackled the very important task of building the dragon’s nest that the dragons will have to deposit their eggs into at the end of the zip line. Such a creative design and Daphne discovered it will provide lots of great drilling practice.
The “riding inside” team also finished the floor of their dragons belly and even had time to attach large eye-bolts that will be used to hoist the dragon in the air and attach to the zip line pulleys.
Our young tinkerers had a lot of fun using the really big drill bits to make holes large enough for the eye-bolts. It’s fun to drill holes, especially holes so big you can easily see through them.
So much fun was had by all this week! And wow did these teams make a ton of progress on their projects through the process. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish next week!
To see more fun photos from today and previous weeks, be sure to visit our Flickr page!