WEDNESDAY 17TH MARCH
Today I worked with the older class (primaries 4-7) on a slightly more challenging activity. I set them the task of creating life size mock-ups out of cardboard of simplified representational shapes for the structures, which will be built out of concrete in the school playground. The eventual structures will all be cylindrical and constructed out of solid concrete, and I hope, if the budget allows, to create “toadstool” tops for them, but until we have got quotes from builders, tilers and mould-makers, this is uncertain. If the budget cannot stretch to wider domed tops, which will be attached separately, I shall endeavour to put curved corners around the top edges and possibly round the face by hand.
I chose various dimensions – differing diameters and heights – to see which ones work best in the space. The children worked in teams of three or four, so it was a good team-building activity, and succeeded in attaching a flat circle of stiff cardboard to a flexible side of corrugated cardboard. Once the mock-ups were completed, the groups carried them out into the playground, battling against the winds, and positioned them along the grassy space chosen for the site. I invited the pupils to walk amongst the structures, getting a feel for their presence in the space, and imagine how they might interact with them if they were real and could be used as seating, to run around, jump from to the next, etc. The children were then asked to look at the size of each structure and feed back which one/s they thought worked better in the space and why. I also invited the teachers to have a look and give me feedback. It was a very helpful exercise for me, not only see how these objects fitted into the space and to find out from the children and staff what they thought, but also to see what changes needed to be made to design a successful solution for the site.
