Wildcat Workshop @ Marian Anderson School
Genius Hour
Students have opportunities during their Digital Literacy classes and other times during the school day to complete Genius Hour projects of their choosing.
Schools across the world implement Genius Hour programs to support students in pursuing their own interests and explore their passions. The Wildcat Workshop, with its materials and emphasis on civic and creative uses of digital technologies, is a perfect space for this kind of activity.
Students are encouraged to select projects that they can share with an audience, in or out of school. Some students may choose to work on projects for upcoming competitions:
National History Day (grades 6-8)
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (grades 7-8)
Rubik's Cube Pixel Art Challenge
Check out this video of an artist who invited fans to build a pixel art image of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. We can create our own pixel art with Rubik's cubes.
The Wildcat Workshop has 48 cubes, which each have 9 "pixels" or colored blocks. (How many pixels would that be in total?) The pixel/blocks are colored white, red, yellow, green, blue, or orange.
Create a pixel art design using this template. Then, twist and turn the Rubik's cubes to create your design, pixel by pixel. Be sure to document your creation by taking a photo!
Example Projects from 2023-24 School Year
Animated short: "The Adventures of Two Baseballs" (grade 3)
A LEGO robotics Rubik's cube solver (grade 3)
"Ghost glove" chemical reaction (grade 2)
Sports podcast, episode 1 (grade 4)
Sports podcast, episode 2 (grade 4)
Recording a rap song (grade 3)
Animated short: "Ultra Journey," Script for animated short, presented at Philly Media and Design Competition
Animated short: "Winter Wars" (grade 3)
Animated short: "Corn vs. Dog" (grade 3)
Script for animated short (grade 5), presented at Philly Media and Design Competition
Coding a Scratch animation (grade 4)
Logo and poster for 3D figure fundraiser (grade 5), presented at Philly Media and Design Competition
Building a playhouse for toy cats (grade 3)
Engineering a toy car for the science fair (grade 4)
Designing a podcast cover (grade 4)
Building a birdhouse (grade 3)
Building a bird feeder (grade 3)
Outdoor "sand art" gallery (grade 4), Script for animated short, presented at Philly Media and Design Competition
Making a "sand art" gallery (grade 4), Script for animated short, presented at Philly Media and Design Competition
Recording a podcast (grade 4)
Animation script (grade 5)
Live-action Cinderella adaptation
Making a car rollercoaster (grade 4)
Designing a poster using pixel art (grade 4)
Making pixel art gallery (grade 4)
Writing a movie script (grade 4)
Planning 3D design charity project (grade 5)
Editing an interview with WeVideo (grade 5)
Using WHYY Media Lab equipment to film an interview (grade 5)