Living Above The Sharks - Day 3 - Week 1 (Mark Day School)

Students arrived this morning enthused about the project and full of ideas. Even before we clapped in to morning circle, collaborators and students were chatting about ideas, improvements and next steps! It seemed like the perfect moment to pause and talk about a few helpful engineering principles. David did a demonstration of bracing and screw strength, then we practiced tracing how forces move through a structure to reach the ground (engineers usually talk about forces moving up, but we find discussing them from top down helps students grasp the concepts more quickly).

A triangular brace makes all the difference when it comes to supporting this wooden corner.

With improving tool skills and a little experience under their belts, Wednesdays usually mean the project really starts to take shape fast. Today fit that model with students really taking ownership of the project, iterating on it, and buckling down to the hard work of creating something they’ll be excited to show off on Friday.

The house gets its walls

Everybody is helping to attach plywood to the walls

Another day, another tool! Today, a few tinkerers practiced with a circular saw which is great for helping us make straight cuts along plywood.

When there are sharks in the sea, it pays to have a raised platform you built the day before.

We still dream of a boat taking us across the shark-filled sea. This prototype needed some wheels.

Our scroll saw is handy for making intricate curved and straight cuts in plywood. When one tinkerer learns to use a new tool, it can inspire others to use it (which is what happened today… be sure to check the gallery below).

Click through the gallery below for more photos from the day. And visit our Flickr page where we will soon be uploading many, many more photos from throughout the week.