We value the power of innovation so highly, we’ve dedicated a specific space and curriculum to encourage it.
Fostering Creators
The Innovation Lab is a state-of-the art space where students create, build, and think critically. Inspired by a program at Stanford University, our Innovation Lab asks Middle School students to approach science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with the mindset of problem-solvers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. The Lab is specifically geared for the aptitudes of adolescents. At this age, their idealism blooms, and they tend to channel energy into action more than reflection. In Middle School, we have three courses dedicated to innovation and design thinking.
Accordion
This introductory course is intended to familiarize students with the Innovation Lab, safety, tools, and processes necessary to successfully completing projects and working in the Innovation Lab. This course also explores the Design Process and iteration. Projects vary from year to year, but some example projects include building gliders, assembling working circuits, and building automata sculptures.
This course focuses on the engineering design process and the thinking skills that lead to success in engineering and other STEM subjects. In addition to engineering and design challenges, students will engage in activities specifically targeted at understanding and developing spatial and creative thinking skills.
In Tech Art, students learn about the process of creating artworks using digital fabrication technologies such as a plotter, vinyl cutter, 3D printers, and laser cutter. Students also learn how to manipulate vector-based graphics and the basics of 3D modeling as well as philosophical underpinnings of Art & Technology as a form of artistic expression. Projects include making vinyl stickers, 3D printed sculptures, and laser-cut animal boxes.
This elective course for eighth-graders introduces students to computational thinking and the basics of how computers work. By focusing on the “Core 4” of programming—loops, variables, functions, and conditionals—students will learn to write programs that are efficient and adaptable. Students will practice translating and writing code in block-based languages using Sphero Robots and Micro:bit microcontrollers. An exploration of how computers work includes learning the binary number system and problem-solving using Turing Tumble, a completely mechanical computer.