James Gordon, a second grader, builds a replica of the Washington Monument.
Ocean City Primary School students, it’s time to build.
Pull out your LEGO bins, extra items around the house and put on your engineering hats.
The school invited all of the students to participate in its annual Youth Engineering Project, Click-It, which asks students to build replicas of famous landmarks out of LEGOs or other household items, according to a school press release.
The fair was originally launched in 2018 through a collaborative effort between the school’s after-school design club, OC Life 21, and the Ocean City Free Public Library.
Since that time, the event has grown and is now in its third year.
The concept is simple: Choose a landmark, build a replica or “clone,” research interesting facts about the landmark.
The goal is for students to apply the basic engineering steps of choosing a problem, researching a problem, developing a plan of action, and of course -- build it!
Some of the submissions from Primary School students included some rather creative and complex creations.
Primary School teacher Randy Kohr, the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) teacher and supervisor of the project, had this to say, “With everything going on, we just wanted to give students a fun and creative learning experience that they could complete at home.”
He continued, “This project is one of my personal favorites because it ties in so many cross-curricular aspects. The students are learning about engineering, designing, problem solving, and researching historic landmarks online, all through the ultra-fun process of building with LEGOs.”
Kohr added that the best part of the project is the end result of seeing students proudly displaying their self-built landmark.
“Their creativity and abilities are just incredible and inspiring,” he said.
Submissions have already started rolling in.
Jaclin Adams, a first-grader, created a replica of Big Ben, the historic clock located in London, England. She reported some interesting facts that she learned, including, “That Big Ben is 160 years old” and “It has 11 floors!”
James Gordon, who is in the second grade, elected to build a replica of the Washington Monument, located in Washington, D.C. James’ design included a reflective pool, spectators and flags.
James Gordon, a second-grader, builds a replica of the Washington Monument.
James was guided by his mother, Erica Gordon, who was quite impressed by her son.
“When I read the challenge to James in the morning, he immediately became interested and started to suggest different landmarks we could recreate from all over the world,” Gordon said. “He named landmarks that I had no idea he would even know about, which I thought was really cool.”
And Keegan Halliday, a kindergartener, chose one of the most famous symbols in the country, the American flag. Keegan learned that, “The 13 stripes on the flag stand for the original 13 colonies of the United States.”
Keegan was guided by his mother, Kelly Halliday, who said, “It was awesome to see Keegan’s idea come to life. We talked about how big to make the overall flag and what colors we would need. We also learned a few fun facts about our flag and our country.”
Primary School Principal Cathleen Smith said everyone was so support of the fun challenge.
“Everyone has really come together during this time. We hope this optional challenge is a fun and enjoyable activity for you and your family to grow, learn, and build positive memories together,” Smith noted. “Thanks so much to Dr. Kathleen Taylor, our Board of Education, administration, staff, teachers, parents, guardians and community.”
This year, the project is open to all students from pre-kindergarten to third grade until April 7.
All submissions will be featured in a celebratory Click-It video, which will be featured on the school’s website, Facebook page and Kohr’s technology site www.octechlab.org
Keegan Halliday shows his patriotism with the American flag as his project.
