Big Idea Week comes to PS 15, by George Fiala

Big Idea Week is a program that started at PS 307 in Dumbo a couple of years ago. According to its website:

“Many students have heard of Twitter but have never met an app developer. Big Idea Week is bridging that gap. For one week, students and mentors from local businesses engage in an exchange of ideas and inspiration. The program encourages students to see the world through the eyes of an entrepreneur—as problem solvers, risk takers and innovators—and builds their curiosity, confidence and creativity by giving them the tools to bring their own ideas to life. The project-based curriculum introduces students to 21st-century careers and teaches standards-aligned skills and subjects, from real-world STEM, to collaboration, to public speaking.”

PS 15’s fourth grade took part in its first Big Idea Week this year. The classes were divided into groups and all were given problems to solve.

The Red Hook Star-Revue was invited to see the results of the week on Friday, May 8. It was an impressive presentation.

Each groups members described their project in front of the auditorium and then fielded questions from their fellow classmates. Despite their tender years, many of the presentations felt almost like proposals for real inventions.

Each proposal was accompanied by a projected slide explaining the problem, followed by a drawing of the solution.

For example, one group tackled the problem of too many dirty dogs in Brooklyn. The solution was something akin to an automated car wash, called the “Ultimate Robotic Dogwasher.” Dogs would be led through this device, powered, as many of these inventions were, by solar energy. First the dogs were perfumed, then soaped and then rinsed off – all robotically, of course.

Another project was called S.A.T., short for Stop Animal Testing. The solution involved a custom robot that would emulate human reactions to various drugs.
Smart phone apps were also popular. One problem attempted to solve the problem of not wanting to miss something on TV, despite being thirsty and hungry. A robot dog would fetch chips and snacks from the kitchen, while a long tube would be connected from the refrigerator to the easy chair, all controlled of course by a phone app.

Team Lightning tackled a pet problem. Often, dogs will go crazy when the doorbell rings. Their group, which consted of stuents Jada Evans, Amaya Herrera, Malik Bellahcene and Toriq Price, deviced a phone app that will ring the phone instead of the doorbell.

The “Big Ideas” tackled the problem of high electric bills in the summer. They came up with a solar powered air conditioner. A side benefit was a built-in air freshener.

What one felt after listening to all these presentations was that today’s youth is highly motivated to create a green future, especially the use of solar energy. The possibilities of robotics also inspires these young inventors.

The mentors were all professional volunteers who generously donated their time and helped the kids focus on problems and their possible solutions. The mentors included Regina Myer, President of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation; Lisa Yanz Lehman, Senior Designer at Pensa, a Dumbo design and engineering firm; Benjamin Zelnick, Product Engineer at Biolite, an innovative energy company; Leanne Brown, author of the cookbook “Good and Cheap;” and Michelle Tampakis, owner of the Whipped Pastry Boutique. 

Michelle brought a box of their gluten free pop tarts, which were quite a hit in the teacher’s lounge at lunchtime.