Explore. Invent. Learn.

Thanks to the wizardry of several of their classmates, Northern Lehigh Middle School students will soon have a place where they can gather and let their creative juices flow.

The students won AutoDesk’s #MakeItReal contest on Jan. 19, and in the process, secured more than $25,000 worth of technology equipment to start a Makerspace in the school library.

Together, their collaborative efforts resulted in the receipt of 10 Chromebooks, one Dremel Idea Builder 3D Printer, one Full Spectrum Laser Cutter, two Oculus Rift Virtual Reality headsets, five SparkFun Inventor’s Kits, 10 Arduino Basic Kits, and one Mobile Makerspace Cart.

Eighth-graders Mikel Chase, Paige Craddock, Daniel Gonzalez, Ty Moffitt, Elizabeth Panetta, Aiden Pesesko, and Camryn Torres were guided by their art teacher Mary Frank and librarian Krystle Tiedeman,

The students’ contest submission stood out in a field of impressive contenders, each imaginatively describing what could be created with access to the latest tools.

They wrote, directed, filmed, starred in, and edited a short video for the contest, and also enlisted some of their classroom teachers to take on the roles of transforming educators and voice-over talent.

The students used low-tech Maker Mentality to create a visual story that demonstrated STEAM skills and cross-curricular collaboration, as well as creative hands-on problem solving.

Frank and Tiedeman were tasked with completing the written portion of the application, justifying the incorporation of the prize materials and describing the impact winning would have on the school.

Tiedeman and Frank said they couldn’t be more proud of the group’s achievements.

“It was never about winning,” Tiedeman noted. “It was about showing our students and our community that collaboration and creative problem solving should be highlighted.”

Frank reinforced that thought.

“The prizes are awesome, but our students were already winners,” Frank said. “They already committed to helping bring more STEAM to our school through a Makerspace, no matter what the outcome of the contest.”

According to both, the students have also served as the catalyst for change at the school; sparking the Maker Movement and demonstrating how to dream big and #MakeItReal together.

The students presented their video submission at last month’s school board meeting.