Third graders at Pennekamp Elementary School got their hands dirty on Monday – and it wasn’t from smudging pencil lead in the classroom.
As part of the final stretch in its national tour, SparkTruck – an educational build-mobile created by a small group of Stanford University graduate students – engaged more than a hundred Pennekamp students in a hands-on workshop, where they each designed a robot built with popsicle sticks, a watch battery and a tiny motor.
“They’re hands-on, standing, engaging, chatting, communicating and redoing the entire time,” said Pennekamp principal Debbie Mabry, who has been tracking the SparkTruck tour after seeing a workshop in Seattle this past summer. “This is to spur them and set them well on the path for the rest of the year.”
SparkTruck, which has traveled across 33 different states and hosted more than 200 workshops since June, was created to provide hands-on learning experiences for students amid tight budgets and strict testing requirements in most schools.
The workshops have been edifying to say the least, with Mayor Wayne Powell, MBUSD Superintendent Michael Matthews and board member Ida Vanderpoorte all paying visits that morning, Mabry said.
“I think everyone walks away with the same ‘Oh my gosh, look at our kids – they’re hungry for this,’” she said.
During its four-day stop in Manhattan Beach, SparkTruck also provided sessions for Manhattan Beach Middle School and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“Manhattan Beach has been very welcoming to us,” said Jason Chua, a member of the SparkTruck team.
After the team’s presentation at the Manhattan Beach TEDx conference last Saturday, Chua said they were approached by a number of teachers and principals who invited them to stop by their schools.
“Unfortunately we were fully booked, so I feel like SparkTruck will have to come back down to Manhattan Beach,” he said.
