Educational Excellence Since 1912
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating students in PreSchool through Grade 12
Hamden Hall Country Day School
Educating students in PreSchool through Grade 12
Designing Tables: The Art of Fabrication Fosters Life Skills
Students involved in the Upper School MakerSpace Club are learning what’s involved with producing something that has a practical application. Apparently, tables are all the rage.
MakerSpace Director Rich Chiaramonte is currently helping a handful of students make tables – end tables, night tables, that sort of thing.
Sophomore Matteo Fraschilla said he needed a night table in his bedroom. Mr. Chiaramonte advised him before he started crafting the piece to measure the height of his bed to ensure that the table served a purpose in terms of reachability.
“Many young people today have no idea how to use tools or how to mark a square corner or how to look at something to see if it makes visual sense. They have to learn the value of the process. Any kind of hands-on work lends itself to that kind of life lesson,” maintained Mr. Chiaramonte.
The tables are conventional in style and leaning toward a mission look. Students are fabricating their pieces using red oak and cedar for the most part. According to Mr. Chiaramonte, students are “working with rough sawn material from my stock at home. Both the oak and the cedar are from Connecticut trees.”
Offering Upper Schoolers the resources available in the MakerSpace Design Lab had for the most part been limited to a once-a-week club option. This school year, students are able to schedule time during the day when they’re available.
“I am trying to help them learn to plan and to enjoy each step along the way,” said Mr. Chiaramonte. “Also, broadening the scope of this space to any hands-on creativity that students are interested in is a valuable educational tool.”
Mr. Chiaramonte noted that one student has expressed interest in making a chess set when his table is finished. “What I like about all of this is that the room is being used more and more,” he said.
Hamden Hall Lower Schoolers are also benefitting from the lab’s resources with a “Traveling MakerSpace.” Both Ann Kohler and science teacher Claire Rich are utilizing equipment in their classrooms or fabricating components in the MakerSpace in order to commence projects with their students.
Mrs. Kohler said students in Grades 5 and 6 are honing their woodworking skills by making "Yardzee" games (similar to Yahtzee but with larger dice designed for the backyard).
“We are learning how to sand by hand, by machine, and to work a drill press,” said Mrs. Kohler. “It’s a lifelong skill. Working with your hands is always a plus and gives students an opportunity to create outside of the traditional setting. This type of exposure offers a different avenue for the student to achieve success, develop a hobby, and have fun.”
In Grade 3, students are fully immersed in Native American studies. Lower School science teacher Claire Rich advanced that curriculum into an engineering and science day by utilizing resources from the MakerSpace Design Lab. Students constructed 3-dimensional totem poles, wind chimes, and rhythm drums this week by engaging with such equipment as power drills, corrugated cardboard cutters, and awls.
“The class learned about totem poles, drew them on paper, and constructed them to make replicas. Next up was wind chimes using natural elements such as shells, rocks, and sticks some of which they helped gather. The students' planned materials, prepped them, and incorporated items into their design. This group of children were wonderful listening and following directions when needed and then thinking on their own. I was very impressed,” said Mrs. Rich.
Hamden Hall Country Day School
1108 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
Hamden, Connecticut 06517
Phone: 203-752-2600
Fax: 203-752-2651
admissions@hamdenhall.org
About Us
Hamden Hall Country Day School is a nurturing and inclusive community with a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic excellence by understanding each child and fostering their individual growth.
