MACH & Lighthouse Add BluePrint Program

Dr. Donald Rainone, Executive Director/CEO of MACH, announced the development of a new series of multidisciplinary arts and technology classes for students in grades 2 – 8 at two Lighthouse programs. The MACH BluePrint program will introduce students to the variety of ways the arts and technology combine together. Second and Third grade students will have a chance to explore product prototyping; fourth and fifth graders will discover bridge building and car designing; and sixth through eighth graders will develop short computer animations.  The classes are developed with the idea of introducing science and technology in fun and engaging activities that stimulate creative thinking, problem solving and discovery.

Design Inventors 

Product Design Class

Students in grades two and three will be introduced to and practice the skills necessary to develop new products in a Product Design Class. Students will first look at and learn about simple machines, how they function and their uses. By examining the insides of simple toys, students will see how these simple machines work together to create complex systems. Students will then brainstorm ideas about things they could invent to help them in their own lives. The students will have a chance to develop the idea through sketches and written descriptions. For a final step the students will develop a three dimensional prototype of their invention with common materials. This class will meet with two groups of students from 45 minutes each week for 12 weeks.

Create and Build Club

Bridge Building / Car Designing

Fourth and Fifth graders will spend two 12-week sessions learning about bridge and car designs. In the first session, students will focus on learning about different types of bridges (suspension, tension, etc.) and the similarities and differences between them. They will then work in small teams to design their own bridge. They will draw several different types of bridges and through discussion within their groups, will pick one design to build. Using spaghetti and glue the students will build foot long models of their designs. Then each team will test which bridge is the strongest by using pennies as a weight.

For the second session, students will explore different car designs, from the past through current designs and beyond. Students will begin to develop their own designs and explain what made them choose different styles and features. Using a quick model making method, students will be able to try out several different types of car body shapes. They will make observations of each trial run and report on what designs did best and under what conditions. 

Animation Studio

3D Computer Animation

The sixth through eighth graders in this class will work simultaneously in two areas – computer-based animation and creative writing. Students will learn how to build and create characters and backgrounds and how to animate those objects using the computer software, Blender. Additionally, on a regular basis, students will use standard word processing software (Microsoft Word) to begin to develop their character and the story for their animation. Story ideas will be based upon topics included in their academic classes and/or school-wide themes.

The goal for the project will be for each student to complete a short (10 – 15 second) animation with story boards and an original short story. The instructor will keep a physical portfolio of student drawings each week and a digital portfolio of their writings and their computer drawings.

The BluePrint program is designed to develop problem solving skills using a multisensory, multidisciplinary approach, engage youngsters in scientific inquiry through hands-on projects, develop computer literacy skills in common computer applications (Microsoft Word) and animation (Blender) for older students, foster creative problem solving skills through visual arts learning, and enhance learning through a multidisciplinary approach.

 “This is a very innovative program. It’s an interesting melding of the arts and technology,” said MACH Program Director Frank Derico. “We’re really excited to be working with Lighthouse on this project.”

BluePrint program classes will be offered at Lighthouse programs at Bridgeport’s Jetti S. Tisdale and Read Schools. Classes begin the week of March 8^th.