Building is fun, tangible and part of our everyday experience. This camp teaches kids about the built environment by exploring art, social studies, language arts, history, science and math through hands-on activities designed to encourage creative, outside-the-box thinking. Architecture helps with visual learning, observation, reasoning and critical thinking. The camp will engage children physically and mentally as they use their imaginations and become designers for a week.
We will design floor plans and build a miniature neighborhood, take a look at structural concepts by creating toothpick bridges, and engage in discussions about scale, foundation, loads and aesthetics by designing skyscrapers that scale the walls of the School. Campers will learn about structures using our own bodies as support columns, we will make our own stools that can hold our parents and we will even build a geodesic dome that campers can occupy. We will work as individuals and in groups to look at real-life problems and simplified versions of what architects do each day. This camp is ideal for children who like to create, draw and build – children who aren’t afraid to be original, take risks, explore new ideas and even get a little messy!
Frank is the Lower School STEAM coordinator and engineering teacher at Collegiate School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a masters degree in instructional technology from the University of Virginia. This is Frank’s 22nd year at Collegiate.
For more information contact Frank Becker at fbecker@collegiate-va.org.