There is a reason for the saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” In this case, one school district’s trash is a teacher’s treasure.
Sara Laudenbach, one of North Junior High School’s technology education teachers, believes in recycling and reusing.
North Junior High was under construction last summer to accommodate the growing number of students. And where there is construction, there is building code compliance.
The gymnasium doors at North needed to be replaced with fire-hazard doors to meet building code. The old doors…their fate was waiting in the dumpster outside.
Laudenbach had a better idea.
“We try to give back to our community or our school,” explains Laudenbach.
Laudenbach teaches Project Lead the Way (PLTW), an extensive and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. Her vision was to have her honors PLTW class do something with the doors.
That’s where Richard Wilson comes in.
Wilson is also a technology education teacher at North. His classes are also very hands-on. One of his classes is automation robotics.
Wilson’s classroom size is limited for the needs of his students. Laudenbach and Wilson brainstorm the idea for Laudenbach’s honors class.
The doors Laudenbach save from the fated dumpster would become the new tables in Wilson’s classroom, giving students the much needed extra space for projects.
The first step was seeing what kind of condition the doors were in by stripping off the laminate exterior. With the assistance of the large-scale stripping machine at Apollo High School, the doors were more beautiful than Laudenbach could have hoped.
Laudenbach has two eighth grade honors classes, but only eight doors. Every student in both her classes create a leg design for the tables. After the design phase, the designers of the chosen top four designs from each class become a project leader. Each leader then chooses a team to build the tables.
No two designs are alike. The tables need to be long-lasting and sturdy. Hence, the need for the legs to be made out of steel.
Because Laudenbach is not an expert with steel, she reaches out to Seitz Stainless to ask about pricing. Seitz Stainless is so excited about the class project they generously donate the steel and use of the 3D imaging printer. In addition, they offer their engineering expertise with the leg designs.
Each team creates a prototype of the table design using AutoCad. The design is presented to the class and an engineer from Seitz. After the presentations, the engineer meets with each team to review measurements, weight support and identifies strengths and possible weaknesses in the design.
“It’s a fun experience,” says Elizabeth Cao. “You learn about a lot more than numbers. It’s a hands-on experience.”
There is a lot of work to be done. The students have another challenge. The tables are larger than the existing tables in Wilson’s room. To problem-solve, students start measuring the tables and space for a floor plan. However, they soon discover the only way to work around the space issue is if Wilson trades rooms with the computer lab adjacent to his classroom.
The students are able to create a table configuration that works, but the electrical accessibility doesn’t. Each one of the tables will be fashioned to have an insert for electrical strips, magnets and cubbies for storage. Power needs to be in close proximity to the table, so the students redesign the electrical layout in the computer lab as well.
In the following months, the tables are sanded and trimmed, cut for replaceable inserts and finished. Inserts for the tables are also designed and created.
“We’ve been working on this for two months. We don’t want to mess it up,” says Alexis Foster, project leader. “It’s for another class.”
During this time, project leaders take a tour of Seitz Stainless and learn about steel manufacturing and the 3D image printing process.
The day the legs arrive at North, anticipation and excitement fill the air.
Students quickly put their drills to work attaching the legs to the tables. They are on a tight schedule to complete the tables before the end of year assembly. The tables are to be unveiled to the student body.
Rounds of applause and cheers are given to the students as they show off their works of art at the student assembly.
Laudenbach presents the “Thanks for Giving Us a Leg” award to Seitz Stainless for all their work, time and dedication to the project.
Students feel a sense of accomplishment by creating and leaving a legacy for generations yet to come through North Junior High School.
View the photo gallery or video of the project.
Our aim with this project was to reduce food waste using standardised quantitative process improvement techniques, says Neel Iyer, mechanical engineering student at Rose-Hulman and a member of the project team.