Birdseye Hammond TechRoom
The Birdseye/Hammond STEM lab at O’Maley Middle School was originally conceived by John Madama and championed by the Gloucester Education Foundation in 2008.
Current projects in the TechRoom:
Aquaponics-Start
January 2024
Hundreds of feet of pipe are cut and a couple thousand fittings are fitted by 8th graders who assemble frames, cover grow beds and plumb in drainage sumps for their teams aquaponic farm.
Where have all the bluebirds gone?
December 2023
6th grade students take on the task of habitat restoration by building bluebird nest boxes.
Bluebirds are found only in North America. There are three species of bluebirds and all are secondary cavity nesters, meaning they rely on the abandoned cavities made by primary cavity nesters such as woodpeckers.
Clearing of land for buildings, highways and large scale agriculture has greatly reduced the supply of natural cavities for bluebirds. This habitat loss is compounded by the presence of two invasive species to North America, the European Starling and the House Sparrow. Both the European Starling and the House Sparrow are extremely aggressive secondary cavity nesters and will outcompete bluebirds for available cavities.
Since 2010, O’Maley students have been building and installing bluebird nest boxes around Cape Ann to provide suitable habitat for the bluebirds. If you see a bluebird, thank a 6th grader.
Dressed for the task at hand.
I am not left-handed!
Massachusetts STE Standards:
6.MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution. Include potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
6.MS-ETS1-5(MA). Create visual representations of solutions to a design problem. Accurately interpret and apply scale and proportion to visual representations.
Clarification Statements:
• Examples of visual representations can include sketches, scaled drawings, and orthographic projections.
• Examples of scale can include ¼ʺ = 1ʹ0ʺ and 1 cm = 1 m.
6.MS-ETS1-6(MA). Communicate a design solution to an intended user, including design features and limitations of the solution. Clarification Statement:
• Examples of intended users can include students, parents, teachers, manufacturing personnel, engineers, and customers.
6.MS-ETS2-3(MA). Choose and safely use appropriate measuring tools, hand tools, fasteners, and common hand-held power tools used to construct a prototype.
Clarification Statements:
• Examples of measuring tools include a tape measure, a meter stick, and a ruler.
• Examples of hand tools include a hammer, a screwdriver, a wrench, and pliers.
• Examples of fasteners include nails, screws, nuts and bolts, staples, glue, and tape.
• Examples of common power tools include jigsaw, drill, and sander.
IMG_7959.MOVHARBOR house builds
December 21, 2023
Harbor House wraps up this year's bluebird nest box program with some impressive work! Assistant Principal Mr. Addesa joined the students for the final days of building, putting his woodworking skills to the test.
BRIDGE OVER MY ICE CREAM SUNDAE
Future civil engineers?
Working off the finished drawing.
IMG_7812.MOVNovember 2023
Students move from dynamic classroom learning focusing on concepts and vocabulary about bridges and their function onto the early stages of design. Experimenting with virtual prototypes in testing software leads each student to penciling a rough concept sketch of their own. These concepts are then brought to the work table for discussion and critique with their building team who then, as a group, choose a design to move forward to full scale.
It’s at this juncture that O’Maley’s Science Center program deviates from the standard middle school toothpick/popsicle stick model bridge project.
A crash course in generating ¼ scale construction drawings has students producing a working construction drawing of an 8 foot wooden truss bridge for team members to build.
It would be difficult to overstate the value of this process.
It is here that students are faced with navigating the complex intersection of idea and object, communicating their observations to others so that they may be incorporated or not, into the team’s bridge ‘blueprint’.
Hard skills such as applied math, accurate measurement and drawing with tools, are combined with the soft skills of team building and communication to create a working finished drawing.
Building off of a 1/4" x 8" x 8 foot long plywood deck, Students work at speed to bring their designs to life, forming arches and box trusses out of spruce and wood glue.
Arch bridges find their strength in ¨nonstretchables¨ and ¨incompressables¨, as these student builders demonstrate.
Massachusetts STE Standards:
7.MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing solutions to a given design problem using a decision matrix to determine how well each meets the criteria and constraints of the problem. Use a model of each solution to evaluate how variations in one or more design features, including size, shape, weight, or cost, may affect the function or effectiveness of the solution.
7.MS-ETS1-4. Generate and analyze data from iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process to optimize the object, tool, or process for its intended purpose.
7.MS-ETS1-7(MA). Construct a prototype of a solution to a given design problem.*
7.MS-ETS3-4(MA). Show how the components of a structural system work together to serve a structural function. Provide examples of physical structures and relate their design to their intended use.
Clarification Statements:
• Examples of components of a structural system could include foundation, decking, wall, and roofing.
• Explanations of function should include identification of live vs. dead loads and forces of tension, torsion, compression, and shear.
• Examples of uses include carrying loads and forces across a span (such as a bridge), providing livable space (such as a house or office building), and providing specific environmental conditions (such as a greenhouse or cold storage).
SAIL DAYS
"I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship."-Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)
Beach house Sails before the season closes
November 14 and 17, 2023
As the temperature drops and the wind gusts, we are thankful for a successful return of the Sail Car program. First launched by Dave Brown at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, the program has been a favorite of 8th grade students and teachers since being brought to O'Maley in 2014.
Waiting for the wind
November 14, 2023
Beach House A block waits patiently for a breeze.
Looking at clouds, watching for the front.
IMG_7579.MOVBeing passed on the corner!
ANCHOR House breaks out!
November 3, 2023
Another 29 teams run their sail rigs around O'Maley's 1/4 mile track. Friends, funders, students and more than a few administrators made up the spectators on a breezy day.
A thumbs up from Jack.
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FINAL PREPARATIONS
Beach House students put some final touches on their sails. After school time allows for individual attention.
Style points are a thing.
Ella and Mr. Brown making some final adjustments to her sail.
A newly skilled sailor makes the best of a favorable breeze.
Ocean House SAIL DAY!
October 25, 2023
Students took to the track, giving the sail cars a spin after a 3 year hiatus. A 5 knot shakedown cruise with Ocean house. More to come.
A crew of 3 prepare to jibe their way around an upcoming corner.
A little window is better than no window.
First sail car out of the gate.
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Stepping the masts
Some final rigging adjustments before sail day.
Mr. Davis (left) and Mr. Perry pose with the team.
IMG_7629.movA Busy day of Building
Students add masts, booms and sprits to their sails.
Patching the holes...in the sail fabric.
SAIL CARS MOVE TO THE ATRIUM, DAY 4
Jack Luis Romeo sailcars.MOV
Working from their 1/4 scale final designs, students layout to full scale on salvaged lumber tarps.
sail cars, day 1
Working with 1/4 scale models, testing all designs.
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Sail Cars©
September 2023
Lauren, Kaeley and Charlotte with Antone, their first prototype.
Massachusetts STE Standards:
8.MS-PS2-2. Provide evidence that the change in an object’s speed depends on the sum of the forces on the object (the net force) and the mass of the object.
8.MS-ESS2-5. Interpret basic weather data to identify patterns in air mass interactions and the relationship of those patterns to local weather.
6.MS-ETS1-5(MA). Create visual representations of solutions to a design problem. Accurately interpret and apply scale and proportion to visual representations.
Automatas
September 2023
Investigating the relationships of placement, alignment and clearance, students work with shapes, properties and inputs to create a machine that tells a story.
Massachusetts STE Standards:
6.MS-ETS2-2(MA). Given a design task, select appropriate materials based on specific properties needed in the construction of a solution.
A Gloucester Sea Serpent Siting
Automata in action.
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