Finished Sculpture!

After cutting out and assembling their animal sculptures the Innovators were ready to paint. Using acrylics they painted a base coat then added designs. The final step was a coat of Mod Podge to give the sculptures a seal coat. They came out awesome!

Crazy busy week

The Innovators had another busy week with lots of time in the Makerspace working on sculpture and building domes for science as well as a field trip AND a Valentine's party. 

The sculptures are inspired by the work of Terrell Powell and made of wood. So far the kids have constructed and primed them. Up next some fun color!

At Concrete Technology Corporation the Innovators learned about what engineers do and how 

prestressed concrete is formed to make bridges, tunnels and even floating piers. They toured the plant and even got to mix their own concrete which will be stress tested.

For the Valentine's Day party the Innovators got to make heart crafts, share valentines with their friends then, of course, eat some great treats supplied by our wonderful parents.

You say catapult, I say trebuchet

The latest engineering challenge was to design and build a catapult to launch a marshmallow. After looking at different kinds of catapults and watching a video of a working trebuchet the Innovators set to work.

 No catapult is complete without adequate bling!

 Testing!

 Then the battle lines were drawn as each team got three tries to shoot their marshmallow the furthest. And while the counter weight was a great idea, not sealing the top resulted in flying beans.

And what do you do with leftover marshmallows? See who can get the most in their mouth. The winner was ten!

Swimming!

When it's cold outside it's a great time to go inside and have swim lessons! The Innovators are enjoying their time at Norpoint Center for the month of January.

Why yes, we love our guinea pig

During indoor recess the kids decided Ginger needed a castle. Yeah, we kinda like her.

Back to School

The Innovators jumped right back into the school year the first week back after the winter break. First up, an engineering challenge in which they were asked to make a "big wheel" that would rotate on an axle. They got quite creative, adding cars for passengers and decorations to their designs.

 For First Friday Gathering the Innovators performed a song from "The Sound of Music" that they have been working on since before they went to the performance in December. It was an amazingly complex piece and really showed off all they are learning in Performing Arts with Ms. Joffrey.

And then there was School Store with both the middle and lower school students shopping making things extra busy. The Innovators handled the crowd with great professionalism and made a bit of money that will go toward their Cape Disappointment field study.

Inventory is time consuming but a necessary part of running a store!

Sound of Music

The Innovators got to have a special field trip to see The Sound of Music at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. They had eighth row seats so were up close to the action. What a cool holiday treat!