The West Bend Current

For the next few weeks, the library will be a mini construction site.

The West Bend High Schools library introduced a brand new project to the Makerspace, a corner that has a 3D printer, art supplies and other attractions. That project is a K’nex ferris wheel that, after being built by students, will be over six feet high. The project began on Nov. 3.

“Any students or staff can come in and work on the ferris wheel during their study halls if they have a pass from a teacher or after school until 3:15,” said Pamela Mumm, the library coordinator for the West Bend School District.

The build will take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to complete and after that it will stay on display in the Makerspace for a couple of weeks after that.

“We’ve been trying to grow Makerspace activities in the library and feel as though this project will help with that,” Mumm said.

Many new activities have seen their way into the Makerspace over the last year and Mumm says that she hopes projects like this will be the next step in bringing more students into the Makerspace.

“The library is a really good place to offer other kinds of enrichment opportunities for students to be engaged and part of something you know besides going on your Chromebook and watching videos or trying to sneak some time on your phone,” Mumm said. 

One of the main points that librarians follow is called the American Association of School Librarians Standards Framework for Learners. The AASL framework outlines the specific goals that librarians have to accomplish every year that helps students learn and grow outside of the classroom. Although this project helps students work together, it also helps them learn skills like problem-solving and cognitive empathy which are all vital to a student’s daily life.

“Even for high schoolers, skills like following directions and working together that you’ve been working on your whole life are still important,” Mumm said.

The goal is to provide activities that students can work on independently or collaboratively.

“Something interesting about the ferris wheel project is that the instructions are not always that clear, so you need to have a good eye for details,” West junior Lyvanna Conrad said.

Elias Rojas, also a West junior, says the project is fun and would like to see more students get involved in the build.

“I’d encourage more students to come and work on it,” Rojas said.

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Images: Elias Rojas works on the K’nex ferris wheel today in the WBHS library Makerspace. Photos by Cassie Jerich, Current Staff.