Maker Fair at JCHS Wednesday Open to Public
The 2nd Annual 8th Grade Maker Fair is near. Eighth grade students at JCHS have been working for the past month to create a new invention, a new use for something, an improved version of an everyday item, and so much more. Student projects will be setup in the Secondary gym at JCHS on Wednesday April 26th from 8:45am - 12:20pm and 1:30pm - 2:30pm to display all of the students' hard work, creativity, and ingenuity. The public is invited to attend.
The Maker Fair (also Faire) has become a huge movement around the world and is teacher Megan Murphy's way of keeping the school district's 8th grade STEM curriculum current with the Maker Movement. STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
The 2015-2016 school year was the inaugural year for the event and was used as a final project for the students to showcase skills learned that year, student creativity and talents in an attempt to show that anyone can be a maker. In the early stages of this project, students brainstorm to come up with ideas that might interest them as an individual. According to Murphy, each student's ultimate goal is to solve a problem, create something new, find a new use for something, or make something better.
Students have access to a 3-D printer which is used n many of the projects. 3-D printers are capable of creating 3-dimensional items from computer code by melting a plastic filament that is layered to create the item as if it came from a mold. The school district has several of these devices that are being used by students.
Murphy went on to say, "Throughout the last month, most students have worked as individuals while some have collaborated on common interests to create their makes. While students are working, I check in with them to make sure they are on track, have what they need, and to see if their are any suggestions I can provide (without changing THEIR project). I spend a large portion of my day (and weekend) 3D printing the students' designs they have created to help them complete their make or something they created in the 3D museum, which will also be a part of the Maker Fair."
Murphy concluded by stating, "In my opinion, STEM isn't a traditional classroom, it is a place that kids of all talents can find success. Not every kid is talented enough to play in a band concert, sing the national anthem before the big game, or even play in the game for that matter. But every kid can be a maker and I want this to be an opportunity for them to standout as individuals with individual talents."
