As you may know we offer pickleball in the Stroth Gym on Tuesday nights, but the PE nets we’re using are too low compared to the official height. So far, we’ve tried quick fixes (like foam batons), but they fall off whenever the ball hits the net.

Your challenge: Design and build a simple extender that can attach to the existing net system and raise it to the correct pickleball height. It should be:

• Easy to attach and remove

• Stable (doesn’t fall off when the ball hits the net)

• Durable for repeated use

Pictures are included to show the current setup. We’d love your creative solutions—your design could make a big difference for our school’s pickleball games

Marnee 

Frankfurt International School

Physical Education 

I know your students made a ‘Ms Bryant is in/out” sign for doors… do you think they could make a Ms Suhaya is in/out sign for my door too? 

Perhaps it could says - 

- off campus

- US Techdeck 

- PS

Instead of in/out. 

I have noticed that the stairway by our offices is exceptionally loud and is like an echo chamber which adds to the sense of chaos. I wonder if some kids could design some sculptures that would be allowed to be installed on the walls and or ceiling to combat this issue. For inspiration:

https://www.etsy.com/market/sound_absorbing_sculpture

We would like a table for our outdoor kitchen.

We trialed a few ways to help the big tri-fold boards stand up outside and it was somewhat successful, but they often fell down in the back. If there are ways to hold these up in windy conditions, I would welcome some ideas. The only thing is that the Activity fair will be on Sept. 11, so this is tight for timing, but could be trialed for next year? 

The 3d side holders did work, but the boards were a bit thicker than the small holders to fit and they were light weight. I can show you what they looked like. It is more about some kind of weight to hold them steady. 

I am in need of a Marching Machine for a piece we are playing. They aren't available very widely and most people just make their own.

Here's what it looks like from a webpage about a band director making one for himself: https://www.scottwatsonmusic.com/compositions/band-grade-2-3/marching-machine

I was just wondering if this is something that could be a class project?

If it's not something that looks interesting as a class assignment (or you just don't want to do it, no worries from me) would I be able to use some of the school equipment to put it together myself?

Just FYI, I would need this sooner rather than later so that we can practice with it before our concert on December 2nd.

I require a secure, multi-layered storage box to ensure the robot's safety and easy to move. The lower compartment should be designed specifically for storing the robot, while the upper section should include two to three drawers with separate compartments to organize and store various components efficiently. This structure will provide both protection and organization, ensuring all necessary parts are securely stored and easily accessible.

Children at the Primary School LOVE to touch the walls when they walk by; this is often a problem as they want to touch student work or art that is posted there. But what if something was created to put on the walls here that they COULD touch? That they would be encouraged to touch?That would stimulate their minds with different (safe!) textures?

Our Basketball Foul panels that were created previously in DT in plastic are now broken. Is it possible to recreate them in wood?

I have quite a few plants in my classroom that could do with some decorative pots. I don’t know if this is something possible for you to make, but they would brighten up and enhance my classroom set up. 

We have pots on the tables for pens, scissors, etc, but they keep falling over. We would like something that they can sit in to support them. It would be lovely to have them made from wood (as a natural resource) rather than plastic. Thank you.

When I am airing the room, the windows always close with a bang because of the draft. I would like something to keep them open safely.

All the desks in the room have "brakes" that totally DO NOT work. When you put them on, they just don't keep the desks from rolling. This causes the desks to roll around the room, and is a real pain. On a scale of 1-10, this is an 11!

We would love a game of 3 hole washers toss to play with my PE class during our target games unit, but we cannot get the game here in Germany.

I need a storage solution for my Tonie boxes, headphones, and Tonie figures. I would like something where I can place everything together, and the children can safely access it on their own.

I run the knitting club and we need safe storage of all the ongoing knitting projects without it being one big bundle in a bag as it is right now. The reason why it is in a bag is because we need to stuff it into a cupboard. It doesn't look good and something must be done, only I don't have the skills to build it.

We have limited space on shelves in the classroom, but I want to display more books. I think it looks more appealing, when you can see the cover of a book instead of just a row of books on a shelf. We have a large windowsill with opportunity to display some books, but I would like to do more than just lean them against the window. Also it makes it difficult for the cleaning staff to tidy up quickly. In the library they have displays for single books, but the ideal display for the classroom would be able to hold a couple of books or more and potentially in two layers. If it could have a handle, then it would also be easy to move around. 

We want to include a big scale for our water and sand area. 

We need some hamster toys. Cocoa (Our hamster) likes climbing on things, digging and sliding too.

The glass shelf that usually sits on top of the two bottom drawers in our small fridge broke. Now it's hard to fit everything in... This is in the kiddie kitchen and we no longer have the broken shelf. Could someone possibly make us a new shelf?

Here's a problem that your group might want to solve.

By the copiers, I noticed that there are no bins to collect staples when students and teachers make copies. Instead of throwing them in the paper bin, could the staples be collected near the copy machines? Perhaps these staples could be recycled metal as well, right?

I am looking for sturdy storage containers or organizers for classroom supplies (markers, erasers, pencil sharpeners, glue sticks, rulers, scissors, etc.) that allow students quick and easy access in their table groups. The organizers should accommodate various item sizes and fit easily on a desk. I’ve attached a picture of the containers we’ve used in the past, but none have fully solved the storage issue.

We could really use another instrument storage cart (for cellos and violins), like the one that the 2 students made for us a couple of years ago.

During all of the cafeteria construction we started using the cart in the E.S. junior lounge. It's turned out to be very helpful to have there for the younger students to leave their instruments when they arrive at school. This means, though, that I don't have the cart in my classroom anymore, and I really miss it! It was so helpful to have it in my room for flexible storage.

We'd really appreciate it if anyone is still looking for a project and is interested.

One of the stands of the globe was broken. The old one was a lamp, but that would not be needed - just a stand that allows the globe to spin at the correct angle is all we need. But students can be as creative in the design as they like - see examples.

We have different lenses (concave and convex)  which needs to be kept organised.

We would love to have some mirror for the children to move around and use them for their creations. We would need 2 of these

I would like some vertical surfaces made in the classroom like this one - either plexiglass or white board. This is one from the office from Corona times. It would be great to have it refitted with a sturdier base for children to write and draw on. Thank you!

The water bottles in our class are taking up space on the counter by the sink. Right now, we think a solution could be to create some type of 'wine rack' system where the bottles could be elevated and out of the way. Something created out of the way and above the sink area would be best. We, as a class, would love to help solve this problem and could send along designs as well for what we were thinking. Just let us know how we can help!

If you would like to enter a competition, check out the 

Instructables website for some inspiration.