Three Books: One New Vision of Learning
After a very intense summer camp at Mezzacello Urban Farm around sustainably using wind energy I had a powerful dream. This dream revolved around three books: "Alice's Adventures in wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl, and "A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeline L'Engle. The dream was a response to a conversation I had with the kids about their favorite books and why.
A Fresh Take on Summer Camps: One-Day Workshops & Mentorship in Action
At Mezzacello Urban Farm, I’ve always taught summer camps using a mix of the design cycle, systems thinking, and mentorship. But this year, a small shift sparked a big idea: what if one-day workshops could deepen and extend the impact of our week-long camps?
Energy: From Stars to Stomachs
This is me and my intern, Marcus, teaching a classroom full of 6th and 7th graders the basics of Gravity, The Weak and Strong Atomic Forces, and the relationship between electricity and magnetism. We started with Google Maps to get kids to think about zooming in and looking at relevant and relative things with more thought. Then we zoomed in to the basics of our lesson.
Winter Programming: Physical Electricity
Today in late November it was 0C here at Mezzacello Urban Farm. The construction of the kitchen and classroom has slowed, so since we won’t have a classroom ready this year, we built wind turbine wires in the kitchen!
What Confidence Looks and Feels Like
A quick blogpost about a moment in time in my 2024 BioEngineering Camp. Four interns - students trained to teach STEM subjects to other kids - but also learning new ideas from other interns.