Kids piled into rooms filled with building blocks, coding games and colourful crafts at Black Mountain Elementary, Friday morning.
It’s Maker Day at the elementary school, where 410 students learned problem-solving, collaboration, critical thinking and project management; all through play.
“Understanding that our kindergarten teachers have been doing this type of making and learning and tinkering for so long, I want to allow the rest of the school to understand that we can all do it… it’s an opportunity for our students to think, to learn and to feel,” said Principal Janet Williams.
“As were moving into the 21st century we want to create these skill sets for our learners. They remember the excitement, they remember the hype,” she said.
The Maker Day is part of the new Applied Design, Skills and Technology curriculum in B.C.
Williams remembered a parent approaching her at one of the PAC meetings and told her the story of how her children built their own easel, rather than buying one, and how she was inspired to create a project rather than build one.
“We can recreate, reinvent,” she said.
Vice principal Adrian Zuyderduyn said 40 volunteers came out to help with the day.
“Between people donating and teachers organizing, this has been the school’s focus for weeks. It takes a huge team to put something like this together,” he said.
Zuyderduyn said he would like to see these events embedded in the school system throughout the year, in smaller settings on a weekly, or monthly basis.
Zachary Armen, six, built projects out of building blocks and was named team leader for his group, where he presented his project at the end of the day.
“It’s for two players, (there are) red and blue balls,” he said.
The event was held throughout the day for students on Jan. 27.