Hello. My name is Maguire McMahon and this year I worked with Keon Tavakoli on a project named “EDI in Aftercare.” Every other Wednesday Keon and I would venture down to the lower school to run build projects for children in 4th through 6th grade. These projects were designed to encourage fun learning while teaching lessons in teamwork, planning ahead, and so much more. Our first priority for the children is fun, followed by Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math learning.

One such session Keon and I ran was a competition where the children were put into small groups of 2 to 4 and given straws and tape and told to build the tallest, free-standing structure. Keon and I tested this project weeks in advance, and were able to, with the same materials and time limits, to build a tower around 30-36 inches in total. The children had 2 separate trials in order to make them learn from their mistakes. The first trial, one group was very successful, tying Keon and me at around 36 inches. But tragedy hit for Keon and my record during the second trial in which a different group reached over 50 inches, with less time, less tape, and fewer straws than the first trial.

Below are photos Keon and I took throughout a few of our trials. Some of the trials we ran include having the children build an aluminum boat that can hold the most weight, build the tallest, free-standing balloon structure, and a paper airplane challenge. Keon and I hope to continue this project through next year while hopefully opening up to 1st through 3rd graders as well.