I haven't blogged in forever… so you know this has to be good!!!
I was contacted by DYSON…
yes the DYSON… ya know the people that make the most incredible vacuums!!!
They really SUCK!!! *wink*
well after getting over that shock and calling my mom to brag
and then my husband
yes in that order because
mom gets super girly excited with me
and hubs is like…. oh cool
so after getting over the initial shock that THE DYSON PEOPLE contacted me!!!
me… little ole Farley…
I quickly agreed to try out one of their Ideas Box
and just an FYI…
I have been given compensation for this review…
however the amazing Ideas Box that I get to keep
along with the DYSON Air Multiplier Fan
has not swayed me in my opinion!!!
this BOX rocks
A little background on this Ideas Box
it is brought to us from the James Dyson Foundation
they are "dedicated to encouraging young people to think differently, make mistakes, invent and realize their engineering potential."
The Ideas Box is loaned to a classroom for 4 weeks and is completely free.
Did you
It is better suited for 4th-6th grade BUT can be adapted for any grade.
It comes delivered in a giant box and contains EVERYTHING you need to challenge your kiddos to improve everyday objects.
The Ideas Box comes with a Teacher's Guide, CD, and posters… OH and let's NOT forget
the FAN…DYSON AIR MULTIPLIER…
this fan is the catalyst to the box…
it is what gets the kids thinking
they are completely in awe of the fan and its bladeless technology.
If you want to do what I did… I placed the fan out a few days before the activity began
behind my desk
out of their reach
and let them just simmer in their curiosity!!!
genius I tell ya!!!
their questioning was hilarious and higher order…
this is why STEM activities are so important in the classroom.
When I started the activities…
I followed the Teacher's Guide… which is super easy to follow
we worked our way through each of the main sections using the CD and the posters
to give us support in our understanding and thinking
There are 5 sections...
1- What is a design engineer?
* here you are introduced to DYSON himself in a very cool video on the provided CD
2- Design Detectives
* here the kids are shown (on the cd) the developing of the Air Multiplier… they loved this part
3- Design
* here is where their little brains go into action…
- I split the kids into groups of 2 - 4 and this is where they got to sketch out their new ideas for
ordinary objects
4- BUILD
* we took full advantage of our CARDBOARD CHALLENGE DAY to build our prototypes
- we asked for donations of cardboard and all sorts of tape a few weeks in advance and we had
plenty… I wanted to make sure their imaginations were not limited by lack of supplies
5 - Test and Evaluate
* many of our inventors went above and beyond in their inventions…
as you saw above…. so this needed to be adapted
and we discussed what the next step would be to get to the final step… one kiddo reminded us
that Mr. Dyson had over 1,000 attempts at perfecting his fan…touché kid touché
I could not be a luckier teacher to have been given this opportunity!!!
The Ideas Box was so inspiring to my students and was such an unforgettable experience…
they were able to SHOWCASE their inventions to the younger grades and were able to explain how their new take on the ordinary was better… it was MAGICAL!!! It just proves that STEM is an important part of education. The smiles on their faces as they explained their new inventions, and the COOLS and OOHs and AWWWWS from the little kids made their day!!!
Now I know you are wanting to try this box in your own classroom…
and you are thinking
COME ON FARLEY give my the link already…
OK OK…
so here it goes…
if you want to try the Ideas Box out in your class… for FREE… for 4 weeks…..
all you have to do is visit….
http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/ideas-box/
Thanks again to The James Dyson Foundation for contacting me!!!
I am so grateful my kiddos were given this opportunity… and not to mention our HOT Texas classroom totally LOVES the Air Multiplier!!!
