Staff
Grade 7/8 students at Sturgeon Creek School were challenged to make functional chairs from newspapers last week.
Teacher Robert Kinsman explained this was an activity challenge focusing on the “Structures: Form and Function” unit in science class.
Students were grouped and given the task to design a “functional” chair only from newspapers and tape.
They had to use previous knowledge about strength, stability, force, form, and function to create their masterpieces.
The chairs had some restrictions for they only could be 12″-18″ from the floor, had to have a back rest, and must hold the weight of a member of the group for one minute.
“I did not put a restriction on the amount of newspapers to use,” noted Kinsman.
“I wanted the students to ‘run wild’ with their ideas and did not want to limit their possibilities.”
Once all groups were done, they put their chairs to the test as the spectating students critiqued them for stability, function, design, and aesthetics.
On behalf of the 7/8 students at Sturgeon Creek, Kinsman thanked the Fort Frances Times for its donation of newspapers to assist the students in accomplishing their chair-building challenge.
He acknowledged the Times’ commitment to Sturgeon Creek students’ learning.
Any leftover newspapers they had will be used for future projects.
