Our 7th-grade design class (STEM) students recently worked on a service project for The House of Tiny Treasures (HTT) which is part of SEARCH Homeless Inc.

We visited the preschool (which is for children of families experiencing homelessness or that have been homeless in the past) on April 21 and our students were able to meet a few of the HTT students to see what kinds of activities they liked. They took notes and interacted with the children, so they could design with empathy in mind.

The 7th-grade students were then tasked with making puzzles for the young children. HTT's curriculum is similar to Montessori, so the puzzles needed to be made out of wood (with no paint), but we were able to use acrylic for color. The students used the Design Thinking process to create and manufacture the puzzles for the children. They worked in the Makerspace using the laser cutter and various cardboard, acrylic, and wood tools.

The puzzles look great, and they will be delivered at the beginning of the next school year!