The Primer class of the JEC Lower School was challenged to build a menorah for the bulletin board using simple classroom materials! In this STEAM activity, children applied the design process to come up with a solution.

The children first collaborated to brainstorm the possibilities and create a design. Their first prototype included materials such as Lego, Clics, Magna-Tiles and Lincoln Logs. When they built their menorah, they saw that it wasn’t large enough and couldn’t be hung up!

The class reconvened to analyze their designs and see how they could be improved. The children decided to use paper and came up with a design made of nine paper chains. Some children added an artistic flair to their chains by cutting the paper strips into different widths and using different colors to create patterns. This time, their menorah could be hung up—but it was too large for the bulletin board!

Our young engineers reconvened to improve on their second iteration. They explored menorah design by studying different images and realized that they needed only five paper chains. They tried out this idea, and the successful product is now displayed outside their classroom!