By Melanie Wallis
Children at the Village Community School embarked on a yearlong project about bridges and constructed their own 4-ft. model of a suspension bridge. It took 21 pupils from the first and second grades four months to complete the model, following the preliminary research.
The two-deck model bridge boasts intricate details including cars, people, boats, helicopters, signs and trash cans. The model is made out of wood, building blocks and metal wire and held together with nails, hooks and screws. The project was a collaborative effort of the wood shop, art and music classes. Teacher Patricia Arpino said the students were hands-on in every part of the project. “The children did all the measuring and used real saws, hammers, drills and screwdrivers. They didn’t feel intimidated at all,” Arpino said. Eva Philips, 7, said she helped measure and saw columns to hold up the second deck; she also made a milk truck, as well as wooden and papier maché people.
Arpino feels the children have not only learned about the mechanics of bridges but also how to work together. “The most important thing they have learned is how to work in a team and integrate each others’ ideas,” she said.
The project came to a climax last week with the pupils’ parents attending the grand opening of the completed model of the bridge. The 45-minute ceremony kicked off with a slide show of all the documented stages of the project followed by a yellow ribbon being cut and the bridge lights switched on.
The pupils who made the bridge were Addie Boyd, Annie Davis, Cecilia Dangin, Charles Shaviro, Corey Morrison, Dustin Ross, Eli Williams, Eva Philips, Jacob Friedman, Jake Barry, Jenna Gosciak, Maddie Singer, Maya von Ziegesar, Noah Le, Palmer Taipale, Rachel Schloss, Sam Ginsberg, Sam Wadsworth, Samantha Gordon, Sarah Simon and Sonya Goldman.
