The West Bath Build Team spent the school year focusing on the design and creation of an outdoor classroom. They began their exploration with guiding questions: what is an outdoor classroom and would our school benefit from one? If our school will benefit from an outdoor classroom, how can we build one to fit our needs financially and environmentally?

Next, the team set out to answer these questions with research projects and math investigations. Students studied a variety of informational text about outdoor classrooms, collecting notes and continuously learning about all the advantages to having an outdoor classroom and the many different styles and materials to choose from. Each student began to piece together a vision for what our outdoor classroom could look like and prepared a proposal to present to the group. Students also designed and conducted math investigations to make informed decisions about the dimensions of the outdoor classroom. Much data was collected and analyzed to ensure that our classroom would not be built too big or too small.

Progress on the outdoor classroom was accelerated when the monetary needs of the build were met with a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant. With a $5,000 budget, the team set out to make their visions a reality. This was made possible with the help of amazing local experts: an architect, structural engineer, retail manager, code enforcer, and contractor. The students prepared questions for, and gleaned valuable information, from all of these amazing local citizens.