Whale of a Tale - Day 3 - Week 1 (Mark Day School)

Day three of our camp definitely has that half-way to the finish line feel to it. Our tinkerers are familiar with the tools, have had conversations about the build plans, and are making things that start to offer exciting moments and glimpses of something coming to life… something whalish! And yet, there’s much more to be done, and to learn and to figure out. How will the tail articulate? What will the whale’s mouth look like? How steep will the cart ride into the whale be?

During our morning circle meeting, we collaborators led a short engineering demo about concepts like compression vs. sheer strength (“do we rely on the strength of trees/wood or on the strength of screws?”), why triangles are important in all sorts of buildings, and whether or not adding more screws to a piece of wood that already has a couple screws in it actually makes it stronger (spoiler: it doesn’t!)

Armed with their new knowledge, our tinkerers began to work together to add triangles to the base of the whale’s frame. New skills were explored today such as using a jigsaw to cut out a tail piece or practicing angled cuts on the chop saw (we facilitated 20°, 22.5°, and 45° degree cuts).

We’re using “star drive” screws this week. If your tinkerers come home and comment about your screws looking a little different (perhaps you have Philips or flathead screws in the garage), you’ll know why. We’ve found the star head screws to be a bit more forgiving for kids learning to use drills. We pay close attention to how kids use tools and where they succeed and where they need a little help. And then we adjust year-to-year to find a good balance. Our drills, for example, are lightweight enough for small hands but powerful enough to easily drill through 2x3s.