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At its most basic level, The Secret City of Amazing Things is a building exercise. Children build anything they desire using predefined materials. The key to a succesful project lies in a few simple constraints and that really bring out each childs' creativity and

 

*The guidelines I've laid out on this site are only suggestions. Teachers are encouraged to tailor their project to fit their own limitations and creative needs.

 

How It Works

I used this project with four different grades: two 3rd grade classes, a 4th, and 5th grade class, each approximately 15-20 students. I was able to build the project in one of my school's unused rooms. This proved to be extremely useful since the size of the project was so large and depended on being able to keep materials and structures in the same place for several weeks. I met each class once a week for an hour.

 

A large unused light table worked well as the base of the building area. I decorated the tables to resemble an island floating on a waterfall plateau, with little touches like rocks and clouds (plush toy stuffing hung with string). The stage was set.

 

 

A great deal of consideration is necessary when determining how much space to alocate for each class. This is the first constraint, and possibly the most important one. The amount of space will depend on how large each class is and the duration of the project. The goal, no matter the size, is the same: challenge children to consider how much space they have available and encourage them to work together to build a beautiful city.

Building Packets present the second constraint: resource management. Students use a finite amount of materials each week to build their structures. Often, children's art projects are made using an infinite amount of resouces; kids often have as much clay, color, glue, construction paper - all the materials they need to create the project. I believe that art without constraints creates chaos, not art. Resource management is the artist's greatest tool.

 

This is the way that building packets work. At the start of the Secret City, each student receives the first building packet. This packet is the most basic packet and going forward will always be offered as the Basic Building Packet. It is important that this packet contain only simple, essential materials.

 

The next week, the students may choose between the Basic Building Packet or a more advanced building packet. Every week thereafter, the building packets contain more advanced and numerous materials. The Basic Building Packet always remains an option, however. The decision each student makes then determines the growth of the city -- powerplants -- and the Magic Tree.

 

 

Space - Setup

Building Materials - The Building Packet

5 Basic Considerations

 

Space - Defining the building space as well as where the project is housed is crucial. Ample ceiling height as well as space to move around the city is important.

 

Building Materials - Do you use recycled materials only? Just construction paper? Just wood? Legos? Choosing and limiting building materials can really challenge a child's creativity in positive ways.

 

Time - Duration of project. How long the project is allowed to go on for will ultimately affect many other aspects of the project.

 

The Magic Tree vs. The Powerplant - At the heart of The Secret City of Amazing Things, students must make a choice between technology (and its environmental consequences),and living in balance with nature.

 

Competition and Rewards - Like any succesful project/assignment, appropriate amounts of healthy competition and rewards will enrichen the experience.

 

The Magic Tree vs. The Power Plant

At the start of the project, a small Magic Tree is placed in each class's building area. The magic tree grows every week depending on how many Basic Building Packets the students in the class choose. If no Basic Building Packets are chosen, the tree does not grow at all.

 

Alternatively, advanced building packets require power. If enough students choose the advanced building packet for the week, a Powerplant is placed in their area. As the weeks draw on, the building packets become more advanced, therefore it takes less advanced building packets to generate a Powerplant each week.

 

Powerplants require ample space that the students could otherwise build on. They also generate pollution lowering the overall aesthetic of their city. Magic Trees, on the other hand do not generate pollution, and students may build onto the them, incorporating the Magic Tree in their building designs. 

 

 

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