Balance Boards and Justice

Today was a big day.

We finished our giant Scales of Justice

After lots of careful framing of the scale, the hanging baskets and approach platforms, we were finally able to answer the question: how many kids does it take to counterbalance a collaborator?

(Click the picture below to move through a gallery of the Scales of Justice)

It was awesome to see the kids who had really dug into the project discussing the finer points as they waited to hop on the scale. What if the baskets could swivel? What if the axle hole had not been drilled dead center? What if there were springs on the bottoms of the baskets?

When a completed project leads to more questions and more project ideas, we know things are going well!

Meanwhile, a more intimate exploration of balance broke out in the form of Balance Boards! The construction is fairly straightforward: a plank about the width of your foot and about as long as your stance, balanced on a short section of PVC. 

Our young builders took the idea really far, fashioning boards that looked like mini surfboards, skateboard, snowboards and rockets--also gigantic pencils, a hot dog and a peanut!

(Click the picture below to move through a gallery of balance boards)