EDC’s Design Lab came across a cardboard that was much thicker than most cardboard and much stronger than most cardboard. Soon, teachers were learning how to make things for their classrooms using this cardboard.
The cardboard is called Tri Wall or Triple Wall and down the line children were also taught to build using it.
In 1967 this work began with a Headstart Training Program housed at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Teachers and Science Supervisors from Elementary Science Study set up an in-house workshop. Teachers, Parents and Students all participated.
Next were recruited Teachers and Teacher Aides from the Associated Day Care Centers of Boston, MA. And after that, Kindergarten Teachers from the Cardozo Model School District in Washington, DC.
At one point, even the kids from the African Primary Science Program held at 1967 Akosombo Workshop got involved.
Basic Tools were used. Handsaw, Double-bladed buck saw, hole punch, wood threading kit, packing tape, nails and saber saw.
So, 53 years ago a big group of smart humans figured out how to get their hands on sturdy cardboard and teach themselves how to build with it. They did not keep this knowledge to themselves. They spread it around. Inner City communities with daycares, Head Starts, public schools, teachers and teacher aides, parents and CDC advisors had a great time learning practical uses for math and science on cardboard.
Imagine, boats, chairs, bookshelves, tables, wheeled carts, dollhouses, cabins, hideaways, puppet theatres, domes, sand tables, play stores, model towns, slides, cradles and tower houses. These were actually built and used with children and by children. It could happen today if we only returned to this very rich tradition.
If we want children sequestered at home to learn, then there must be something exciting and appealing for them to engage with beyond worksheets posted on Google Classroom. Mountains of math, science, literature, writing, geography, technology, investigation, description and experimentation are just waiting to be scaled in Cardboard Carpentry type projects. Stop Policing Our Imaginations!
kathyirwin1 