A visit to the Westport Public Library’s Makerspace inspired Heathcote Elementary School’s current hit playlist of maker activities collectively called, March Maker Madness. While in the Westport Makerspace, the facilitator Margaret, showed off a magnificent hand sculpted beast that stands center stage in the spacious library atrium. This fierce dragon could easily pose for the front cover of a best selling fantasy novel with its fiery colors, dangerously sharp tail, and 3D printed pointy teeth. The twenty foot dragon goes by the name Bradbury and he was created by master sculptor and “maker-in-residence” Chris Crowe, along with dozens of local children as a part of an overnight Maker Madness event last year (that just happened to be in March).

Margaret recounted the event with great pride and while the idea of an all-nighter in Heathcote School may not have been the spark that lit the fire, the idea of making on a larger scale certainly struck a creative chord. The initial vision was to invite all teachers to take part in something hands-on along with their students; to connect students from all of our schools for a vertical making experience; to allow time for students to be the experts and finally, to start a faculty study group around design thinking. The timing was actually perfect upon looking at the calendar as March was bursting with related activities; Bash The Trash Assembly Program, NY Hall of Science Trip, The Cook Prize book evaluations, and of course our-soon-to-be-famous school wide event, HExpo 2017.

Several iterations later, March Maker Madness materialized to be something fantastic in it’s own right. Two organizations with close ties to Heathcote School, donated their time and conducted several high-energy, thought provoking workshops for our students. The Digital Arts Experience led design thinking challenges asking students to re-imagine their classrooms and let their imaginations run wild with ideating and prototyping, Curious-on-Hudson led vehicle inspired workshops that explored the power of wind and utilized found materials to design and build the ultimate derby car.  Our Middle School Robotics Club rotated students through stations to teach about building, sensors and coding. A most professional trio that left the groups wanting more!

This event may have been one teacher’s vision, however the success of it speaks volumes about the Heathcote Faculty. Signing up for a workshop was completely voluntary, yet all slots filled quickly. Twitter lit up with photos of students engaged and excited to learn. Teacher’s enjoyed the various presenters and encouraged additional conversations around designing and making. March Maker Madness has solidified Heathcote School’s place in the Maker Movement as an innovation leader.