School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

 

School Age S.T.E.A.M. Storytime & Craft: The "Wright" Stuff

(geared to ages 5-9, but older/younger siblings are welcomed)

Wednesday January 8th 4:30 p.m. Registration Required.

Join us as we share a story about the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, then explore the geometry of his designs, a fantasy house, and create some buildings and designs of our own.

As kids entered, had assorted coloring sheets of his buildings and windows from the internet as well as pages photocopied from Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work along with books on architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright to browse (including some adult “coffee table” books to look at pictures).

Opened by asking if anyone knew what architect/architecture was?  Said we’d be reading a book about an architect who some consider America’s best.  Man who loved shapes…had kids look for shapes on the cover of The Shape of the World (one kid even pointed out the rhombus = diamond!), notice what was on the end-papers – items from nature…

Read the book aloud then showed pictures of some of his famous buildings: Falling Water, The Johnson Wax building interior with the “lilypads”, Guggenheim – asked kids to respond with what shapes they saw.  Showed pictures of a few things he dreamed up but never built – future city with helicopters, mile high skyscraper. Then shared another book of imaginitive architecture If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen

Booktalked Dreaming Up by Christy Hale (poems & children's versions of iconic buildings), The Wright 3 mystery,  Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work.

“Design It” - encouraged kids to create their own Wright-inspired  designs or imagine a future city

• tables with coloring sheets, paper and cardboard, grid paper, pencils, crayons, colored pencils, markers, rulers, scissors
• on the floor -- magnetiles, foam shapes, straws & connectors, Toobers &  Zots.

More ideas: https://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2017/09/steam-storytimethe-wright-stuff.html

CDPL 1/2025

STEAM Storytime–The “Wright” Stuff

S.T.E.A.M. Storytime (ages 3-6 & grades K-4)

Join us as we share a story about the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, then explore the geometry of his designs and create some buildings and designs of our own using architectural blocks and tools.

 

As kids entered, had books on architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright to browse (including some adult “coffee table” books to look at pictures).

Opened by asking if anyone knew what architect/architecture was?  Said we’d be reading a book about an architect who some consider America’s best.  Man who loved shapes…had kids look for shapes on the cover of The Shape of the World (one kid even pointed out the rhombus = diamond!), notice what was on the end-papers – items from nature…

Read the book aloud then showed photographs of some of his famous buildings: Falling Water, The Johnson Wax building interior with the “lilypads”, Guggenheim – asked kids to respond with what shapes they saw.  Showed pictures of a few things he dreamed up but never built – future city with helicopters, mile high skyscraper.  Booktalked The Wright 3 mystery.

Then explained the stations:  (While kids at stations, played “Mozart Factor: Learning”)

On floor, materials for our younger participants – foam blocks, shape blocks, magnetiles, foam shapes, Lincoln Logs (which a family had brought in at my request – these were invented by Frank’s son John (also an architect), Toobers &  Zots.

“Build It” tables with construction materials:

• B&T cardboards, scissors, tape, gluesticks for creating 3-D models (had on display a 4 ft. architectural model of Wright’s Winslow House made by a colleague for a course she had taken)
• Wooden blocks of assorted shapes.
• Keva blocks and “challenge” cards – suggested kids look at how Wright balanced Falling Water (cantilever) and try to do the same with the Keva blocks.

“Design It” tables with paper and cardboard, grid paper, pencils, colored pencils, markers, rulers, protractors compasses, circles, diamonds, triangles to trace

• encouraged kids to create their own Wright-inspired window/rug designs or imagine a future city
• assorted coloring sheets of his buildings and windows from the internet as well as pages photocopied from Frank Lloyd Wright for Kids: His Life & Work

 

Winslow model courtesy of Julia Meier

 

BWL 9/2017 

Frank Lloyd Wright at 150:
Unpacking the Archive

Through October 1, 2017

The Museum of Modern Art (NYC)

Craftacular Spectacular: Connect Four--or More!

(Ages 3-6 & 6-10)

We’ll share a story about the Empire State Building then build our very own skyscrapers. 

As kids entered, they browsed books on structures and NYC – titles from: School Age Storytime: On this Spot: New York City & The Empire State Building–A Trip Through Time and “What’s K’NEX’t?”

Asked who had visited NYC?

Read: Top Job by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (6-10 group only) (After other students in the class brag about their parents’ professions, narrator explains about her father’s job – changing the lightbulb on the top of the Empire State Building! --  Lots of math problem possibilities – fun to work out how tall the building is.   Trivia: Please Touch Museum image of  Statue of Liberty Torch made from toys!)

Read: Sky Boys – Deborah Hopkinson (both groups -- tough for the 3 & 4 year olds, 5+ next year)  (Going back in time 80+ years to see the amazing story of how the “Sky Boys” built the Empire State Building – lots more math here (e.g. translating tons into pounds yields an enormous number!)

Booktalk: On this Spot: An Expedition Back Through Time J574.71 Goodman, Ding Dong Ding Dong by Margie Palatini, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordecai Gerstein, showed Sector 7 by David Wiesner.

Shared pictures, some poerms and structures from: Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale

Craft: Mini marshmallows and spaghetti to create structures.  Had them build on the 12x18 B&T cardboards, muffin cups to distribute marshmallows..  (Mini-marshmallows went a long way 5 bags for 80 kids! + 3 lbs. of spaghetti).  This is a tricky craft for the pre-schoolers (though fun- they love to nibble the marshmallows).  Straws and Connectors are easier for them to handle.

8/16 BWL

“What’s K’NEX’t?”

 
Conceived as a start of a series. 

“Julia Morgan Built a Castle”

This is another version of a previous program “Julia Morgan Built a Castle”
designed to interest boys in a Women’s History Month topic.

“What’s K’NEX’t?” “Come hear about one of the world’s first female architects – a woman who designed more than 800 buildings including William Randolph Hearst’s magnificent castle in California, San Simeon! Then we’ll try creating our own architectural masterpieces out of K’NEX!” K-6^th grade.

Display non-fiction architecture, building, houses & homes (690s, 720s, Jbiographies of Julia Morgan and other architects), What it Feels Like to Be a Building 690.21 WIL, Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building – Christy Hale, Building Stories – Isabel Hill

· Open by asking kids what they want to do when they grow up – then ask has anyone ever told them they couldn’t plan to do an occupation because women couldn’t do that! Julia Morgan born 1872 wouldn’t let people say “no.”

· Read: Julia Morgan Built a Castle by Celeste by Davidson Mannis– JB Morgan (long, can tell parts).  Resource book – excellent background & pictures Hearst Castle San Simeon by Thomas R Aidala (708.194 AID) Children’s book: Hearst Castle: An American Palace by Barbara Knox (J979.478 KNO)

· Show Powerpoint pictures of Hearst Castle

Optional: read some poems from Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building –Christy Hale
Build – Stations:  K’nex (also put out “Straws and Connectors” and other building materials, also paper & pencils for plans.)

Plans for previous program here: http://carolsimonlevin.blogspot.com/2013/12/picture-this-designing-castle.html
3.13

5.16 Building Up (Ages 5+)  Registration is required.  Join us for a celebration of buildings large and small, then create your own amazing structures using straws & connectors or K'nex.
Opened by telling the story of Julia Morgan showing pictures from book (which is way too long), then read & acted out the first half of What it Feels Like to Be a Building 690.21 WIL (kids got silly so stopped midway).  Most of the kids (even some of the 8-10 year olds chose to build with straws & connectors though a few used K’nex (which I think is mainly for ages 8 and up). 

Plan to do a similar program 8.16:Craftacular Spectacular: Connect Four-- or More! (Ages 3-6 & 6-10) We’ll share a story about the Empire State Building then build our very own skyscrapers.  We’ll read Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building by Deborah Hopkinson and a few selections from Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building by Christy Hale, then build with straws & connectors, k’nex, and maybe Lego.

Picture This: Designing a Castle – The Architectural Accomplishments of Julia Morgan

A Women’s History Month celebrating this amazing early female architect  -- a great S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) program.

“Come learn the story of one of the world’s first female architects – a woman who designed more than 800 buildings including William Randolph Hearst’s magnificent castle in California, San Simeon! Then we’ll try creating our own architectural masterpieces!”  Kindergarten through 5^th grade.

· Open by asking kids what they want to do when they grow up – then ask has anyone ever told them they couldn’t plan to do an occupation because women couldn’t do that! Julia Morgan born 1872 wouldn’t let people say “no.”

· Read: Julia Morgan Built a Castle by Celeste Davidson Mannis– JB Morgan Resource book – excellent background & pictures Hearst Castle San Simeon by Thomas R Aidala (708.194 AID)  Children’s book: Hearst Castle: An American Palace by Barbara Knox (J979.478 KNO)

· Show Powerpoint pictures of Hearst Castle

· Have kids explore building strength – the power of triangles – “Building Houses” exercise from Mixing in Math website http://mixinginmath.terc.edu/Coversheets&Activites/Building&Design_all.pdf p.4 (Supplies: newspaper, masking tape, broomstick handle) (newspaper pole rolling instructions in Steven Caney's Ultimate Building Book J624CAN p.298)

· Have kids draw or create their own architectural masterpieces (building materials: paper, pencils, rulers, markers, glue, tape, toilet paper & towel rolls, cardboard boxes (cereal box type), wallpaper, hole punches, string, etc.)

· Display structure (J264) and architecture books.

3/2013 What’s Knex’t? is another version of this program.