Fall Tinkertime and a SUPER Opportunity

Fall has officially arrived! One look outside your window will be all the proof you need.

While the trees have changed to their beautiful autumnal colors outside, there have have been some fall changes inside the Library Makerspace, too! To celebrate the season, we have addded three tinkertime stations for our friends to explore.

At our Pumpkin Build center the students were asked to build a stucture as tall as they could using only mallowcreme pumpkins and toothpicks. They quickly discovered that in order to make the structure stable enough to add mulitple levels, they needed to add support in the middle. It was interesting to see how students designed their structures with the added support.

Miss Whorton's friends make pumpkin structures at the pumpkin build center

The second fall center was the Spinning Ghost center. At the center our friends were challenged to get their friendly ghost that they cut out to spin and twirl like a helicoptor propeller. They were given a paper clip to attach to the bottom, and then had to figure out how to bend the ghost's arms. It took some trial and error, and plenty of giggles to figure it out, but we soon had spinning ghosts twirling all over the Library Makerspace. 

One of Mrs.Folluo's friends shows off a spinning ghost ready for flight

The third autumn themed center was the Dancing Shapes activity. Students chose from different fall tissue paper shapes, and after they decorated them with markers, were instructed to tape the bottom of the shape to the table. From here, they got to begin exploring the magic of static electricity. Once they charged a balloon with static electricity, either by rubbing it on the carpet, with felt, on their shirt, or on their head, they held the balloon over their tissure paper shape and delightedly watched it "dance". There was even a QR code for them to scan with their device that linked to a video explaining the science behind static electricity. Our friends were amazed!

Miss Whorton's friends trying out the Dancing Shapes center

Finally, we wanted to share an amazing opportunity for students ages 9-12 and their parents. UMSL's College of Education is offering a robot programming class two Sundays in November and a second session two Sundays in December. 

During the class, participants will learn the programming required for at least two different kinds of robots. The best part is that the programming languages used to make your robots do tricks will give you a better understanding of computer programming in general. No experience is necessary, and it is a great way to try something new with your child! 

For more information contact Amber Bell-Christian at (314) 516-4813.

To register for the workshop contact Jennifer Clemente at (314) 516-5994 or to register online click here to register for Section A and click here to register for Section B.

Genius Hour in Ms. Krueger's Classroom

Many of our teachers are engaging in Genius Hour here at Sappington.  Genius Hour is a time where students are encouraged to explore topics of interest and create products to showcase their learning.  During Genius Hour, Ms. Krueger's class was interested in learning about how design an app.  Ms. Krueger hosted a video chat with Kristi, a former computer scientist at YouTube and Google.   Check out this Google Hangout to see how her students learned about designing apps and creating websites.

Museum of 3-D Curiousities

Over the past several weeks, our Museum of 3-D Curiousities has been filling up with some amazing designs!

The 1st graders have been able to choose a design from Thingiverse to print when their name is drawn. They have selected some awesome 3-D designs, and we look forward to printing one for each of our 1st grade and kindergarten friends throughout the school year.

Here are a few of the designs the 1st graders have picked to have printed from Thingiverse:

kitten in yellow by Sydney (1st grade, Porte), giraffe in red by Hailey (1st grade, Boughman), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in blue by Alex (1st grade, Altmann), Sappington Elementary Super S in green made for Dr.Hamby from all of the students

crown in yellow by Logan (1st grade, Porte), Clarus the Dog Cow in white by Kaylie (1st grade, Fritz), Minecraft pick axe in red by Connor (1st grade, Fritz), and Hello Kitty in purple by Claudia (1st grade, Fritz)

Our 2nd through 5th grade friends have been busy designing their very own 3-D creations on Tinkercad. Tinkercad is the program we are using in the Sappington Library Makerspace to learn the 3-D design process from start to finish. They begin their design from scratch with a blank work plane, and the sky is the limit to what they can create. Each design takes approximately 1 hour to print, so once a student has completed their design they must put their name on the waiting list to have it printed using our MakerBot Replicator 3-D Printer. Our friends who have completed their designs have been very patient waiting for their turn to print, and have enjoyed seeing what their fellow designers have created in the meantime!

Here are a few of the designs that the 2nd through 5th graders have made so far:

house in white by Mia (2nd grade, Hageman), greenhouse in green by Maddie (5th grade, Folluo), pyramid with initials in yellow by Micah (4th grade, Timmerman), lamp in blue by Tamish (5th grade, McArthur), star with initial in purple and blue by Dylan (5th grade, Krueger), nameplate in blue and purple by Elizabeth (3rd grade, Clancy)

 Enderman in yellow by Xander (5th grade, McArthur), Creeper in green by Will (5th grade, Krueger)

egg man in white by Chris (5th grade, Krueger), heart with initial in purple by Alison (2nd grade, Steeno), key chain in blue by Sarah Beth (3rd grade, Skouby), initial rings in purple by Amina (5th grade, McArthur), nameplate with shapes in blue by Gavin (5th grade, Wolf)

It takes some imagination and a lot of patience to complete a design, and we are very proud of our friends that have finished creating a 3-D object so far. We can't wait to see what the the rest of the students will create! 

"I like our Makerspace because there are lots of ways to show your creativity."

-Morgan (5th grade, Krueger)

Digital Makerspace Fun!

The students have been exploring several of the digital tools that the library makerspace has to offer. Specifically, they have been learning how to use several photography and cinematography apps, as well as our new microphones and recording software in our two new recording studios. 

Students were given tips on how to take better pictures with their devices. They learned about the Rule of Thirds, and discovered how just by changing the way you take a picture (up high, down low, tilting the camera, etc.), they can become more interesting images. Then, they were able to edit and enhance their images using a free app called Snapseed. 

Here are some examples of their amazing photos:

They also tried out time-lapse recording on the free app, Hyperlapse, and stop motion movie making using the free app, Lego Movie Maker. The students worked really hard using both apps, and quickly discovered how patient you must be to be a movie maker using both techniques.

students setting up their device to record a timelapse of the traffic outside using Hyperlapse

Below is an AWESOME example of one of the stop motion movies that one of our Sappington 4th grade friends, Logan, made using the Lego Movie Maker app:

friends making stop motion movies using the Lego Movie Maker app

We also had many students interested in making short movies and movie trailers in real time using the app, iMovie. You can purchase iMovie for any Apple device by clicking here. Once again, the students found out that making a movie takes time, and it requires someone willing to stay behind the camera to play the very important role of the movie director. 

Some 5th graders from Mr.Wolf's class made a pretty amazing movie trailer! Check it out!

We also had our 2 brand new recording studios open to the students. Any student that chose to explore the recording studios were able to use our new Snowball microphones, and our new recording software, Voki.

students recording using our Snowball mics and Voki software

It's been a great couple of weeks, and we are having a great time using our new iPads to explore all the digital tools that the library makerspace has to offer!!

Looking for New Photography Apps?

If would like to see what your children are learning during their digital makerspace time, come check out the display outside the library.

   

Exploring Digital Photography and Video Production

Students are starting their next unit on digital photography and video production in the library Makerspace.  They started their lesson with our in house photography expert, Mrs. Grebe.  She gave them lots of great tips on how to take better pictures such as changing where you put your subject and how to let light in to your picture.

Students were given an opportunity to explore taking pictures with the iPads.

They also had time to explore various centers where they could learn about different apps that support digital photography and editing.

Snapseed

With this app, students had an opportunity to crop their photos, alter them in black and white, and sharpen the details of their images.

Lego Movie Maker

Students had the opportunity to explore stop motion photography to create a scene with their legos and then use the app to bring it to life.

"Electrifying" Circuits and an Exciting Introduction to the World of 3-D Design

This week the students learned about circuits. Some questions that the classes discussed were; What is a circuit? What does it do? What do you need to make a circuit? What makes a circuit complete?

The 3rd-5th grade classes used our Makey Makey circuit kits to create circuits that controlled a virtual piano and bongos on the laptops. They were able to explore different materials to determine what would and would not conduct the electricity needed to complete the circuits controlling the instruments. Some of the materials they discovered that worked were the library chairs, scissors, tools from our Take-Apart Center, and even our friends!! They discovered that wood and paper do not conduct the electricity needed to power the virtual piano.

The students in 1st and 2nd grade were also able to explore Makey Makey circuit kits that had already been set up with each kit connected to a different type of object. Some of the objects that they were able to test were bananas, popsicle sticks, corks, carrots, Lego pieces, foil, and pipe cleaners. They were very excited to learn that the fruits and vegetables were able to conduct enough electricity to power the piano keys!! The students were also able to use the Snap Circuit sets to assemble simple circuits that powered things like a miniature light bulb and toy propellers.

In addition to our lesson on circuits, all of the 2nd-5th students were able to watch a tutorial video for Tinkercad. Tinkercad is the program they will be using to design their very own creations to print on the 3-D printer throughout the year. They were able to explore the program by trying out different lessons for themselves. The lessons covered everything from personalized key chains to Minecraft party eyeglasses. The students were excited at the seemingly limitless possibilities.