Pumpkin Decorating in the Library

Middle and upper school students got their creativity going during Halloween week in the library. Using the theme of "Favorite Character" as inspiration, students decorated pumpkins with paint pens and other supplies. The lower school students got involved by voting on their favorite designs. Check out some action photos taken during the event and close-ups of the winning pumpkins below!

Middle School Winners

Leo G. - Among Us

Phillip H. - Pluto

Julia D. - Robot

Upper School Winners

Maiyisha U. - Coraline

Beatrice G. - Spiderman

Joe M. - Venom

Lilly T. - LillyPops

Thank you to everyone that participated! Have an idea for a library event? Reach out to Ms. Shaurette or Mr. Petkus with your ideas!

New Library Lego Wall

The Imperatore Library kicked off the addition of a lego wall to the library makerspace with a week-long challenge to the middle and upper school students. Using both a set of challenge cards and their own imaginations, students made a wide variety of designs. As students experimented, they improved their spatial awareness and problem solving skills. Check out some of the creative constructions below and stop by the library to add your designs to the mix.

The lego wall is added to the library makerspace.

Lexi created a Plinko game, just like the one featured on the gameshow The Price Is Right. If you drop a marble down the contraption, it will bounce around on the lego pegs inside and depending on how it bounces, will end up in various slots at the bottom. Drop the marble from a different slot and that will change the marble's course.

Stasiu completed one of the challenge cards and created a new flag design.

Art in the Library

May was a busy month for art in the library, with three shows including a selection of Bojagi art tiles, submissions from the literature and art challenge, and the final project from the sixth grade PBL on City Design. Check out some photos from each event below.

Bojagi Art from the Korean Culture Club:

Literature and Philosophy Art Exhibition:

6th Grade City Design Remix Project:

Thank you to all the amazing artists who have had their work displayed and to art teacher Mrs. Brusky for helping to organize each show.

Marble Madness in the Library

On Monday, April 25, the Imperatore Library hosted a Marble Madness Challenge for students and teachers. Given some loose guidelines and an open array of materials, participants were encouraged to build a creative, elaborate track that moved slowly or defied gravity in some way. Each group used different supplies and imagined unique paths so no two marble runs were the same. Check out the video below to see some of them in action. 

If you weren't able to make it, don't worry because we will host more events like this in the future! If you have an idea for a future event, speak with a member of the library or computer services department. Thank you to everyone that participated in this event!

Open ended construction materials spark creativity and innovation.

Erik and Greg survey the materials available before beginning construction.

Mr. Shaw helps Mena and Ben use the saw.

Rohin and Malachi discuss the best starting position for the marble.

Daniel and George each build a section of their marble track.

Ms. Barrett and Mr. Middleton adjust the marble's tubing path.

Isabel experiments with the force of a popped balloon.

Greg and Erik design a swinging pendulum.

Mr. Middleton figures out the swinging water bottle apparatus.

Each group builds on their own workstation.

The math department stands proudly by their finished creation.

"Hack Your Wardrobe" in the Library

On Monday, April 27, the Library and Computer Services Departments invited students and faculty members to participate in a maker workshop in order to gain experience in building wearable technology. In addition to figuring out how to build a circuit that would illuminate a string of LED lights, participants got experience sewing with conductive thread and programming a microcontroller. Check out some of our participants in action below.

Ross and Ryan work on programming their microcontroller

Christine gets some assistance from Ms. Sellar

A group of middle school girls work on various stages of the project

Mr. Shaw helps Nick get started on his project

Ms. Nicolaou demonstrates for a group of lower school students

Isabella lines up the battery and microcontroller and gets ready to start sewing

Students were not the only ones to eager to participate

Alexa gets some assistance from Mr. Campbell

If you didn't get a chance to finish your project so you took it home to finish and now have questions, you can find directions here. If you would like to explore additional projects to work on independently, check out the SparkFun website for more ideas.

Did you attend the event and want to send in some feedback about it or do you have an idea for another fun event? Email Mrs. Shaurette, Mr. Petkus, or Mr. Shaw with your comments.

Photographer Josh Lehrer on Homeless Transgender Teens

In December, the library hosted a lunchtime presentation by photographer (and Dwight parent) Josh Lehrer on his acclaimed work with transgendered, homeless teens. The talk complemented the opening in December of an exhibition at D-E in the Swartley Gallery Series called "Becoming Visible," featuring Mr. Lehrer's photography.

The lunchtime "conversations" began with a short film about the project, then Mr. Lehrer spoke with great energy about the teens who were his subjects, and also about his photographic methods, which include using a remarkable antique camera and lens as well as old printing techniques like cyanotype, and platinum and palladium.

A link to the film, photographs, and more about "Becoming Visible" are available here.

Are You the Next Doodle 4 Google Winner?

Mashable, a leading online news source for digital technologies, announces a design contest sponsored by Google to create a unique logo with the theme, "my best day ever." The contest is open to all students in grades K-12, so if you are up for the artistic challenge, stop by Google's informational page, Doodle 4 Google, to pick up an entry form and more details.