County Fair - Day 5 - Week 3 (Mark Day School)

We worked so hard this week to build two giant structures: a pinball game and a rollercoaster. We challenged ourselves with something we didn’t know if we could complete… a track with PVC rails and a cart with wheels to ride and grab the track.

And while we all wanted to be able to ride down the track and experience the thrill, our safety check after lunch showed that the cart wasn’t ready for kids to ride it yet. We did get close! So instead, we enjoyed the visceral sounds of the cart careening down the track with stuffed animals or backpacks strapped to the seat.

And we built a functional and fun pinball machine that towered over us and had strong launchers and even a volcano!

We learned a lot this week: about tools, about ourselves and how we relate to others, and about perseverance. We worked as a team and we accomplished so much!

We were able to admire our work, play pinball, and then collaborate to deconstruct the builds. Our tinkerers skillfully took apart each section of wood as family members helped to hold wood and carry materials back to their starting points.

One parent pulled me aside today and said, “We have some tools at home. I think we might get them out and see what we can build.” YES! I love it when a new door opens for a kid and the new-found ability they have becomes a connection to other ideas and other interests. We hope all of our tinkerers have even more opportunities in the future to imagine, design, build, and test.