The Nest Project

Big Idea: Designs grow out of natural curiosity.​

We gathered as a group to talk about a piece of outdoor equipment. The children typically refer to this space as ‘The NEST’. The young designers were invited to share what they notice and think about the image.

The first step was to ‘Empathise‘, to learn more about the people who we are designing and creating for. In this instance, it was for the children in the Early Years. 

 

• Allen “Ms. Bella like to look this house is broken. Ms. Bella look, said, not good.”
• Kenan “It is broken and Ms. Bella is looking and she is so sad because it is broken. Boys and girls sit there and kick there.”
• Eunice “This sticks are broken.”
• Tae Woo “Ms. Bella is standing and looking fix the sticks.”
• Chloe “Broken”
• Tracey “The sticks are broken because the boys and girls are sitting on the sticks.”
• Noah “I think it is a nest.”
• Patrick “It is a big stick house.”

After the designers shared their observations, we began to ‘Think’, to find as many solutions as we could to solve the problem with ‘The Nest’.

The young designers went outdoors with their clipboards, paper and thin line markers, to look for innovative ways to solve problems and better utilise this great space.

Then, the young designers presented their ideas to the class as we documented these proposals on large chart paper.

Through our observations, we noticed that the children named and suggested many different design and construction materials and tools in their plans.

They made these suggestions by tapping into their prior knowledge about the properties of materials used for building structures.

Some designers visualised the space in unique ways, bringing in design ideas and elements that would offer comfort and purpose. Their sketches included pictures, words, symbols, and numbers. Essentially, they used what they know about writing to communicate ideas as they documented their thinking on paper.

When presenting their ideas to the class, the designers listened and engaged with interest. We noticed how they made connections with what they see, what they heard, and what they know, while looking for ways to understand and solve problems through authentic experiences.

The children suggested including a title on the chart paper, ‘K2A’s ideas to fix the NEST!’.

 

We are excited to dive into our next step, to create prototypes!

Design

Through this experience, the children had opportunities to:

• • identify needs and opportunities for designing, through exploration
  • generate ideas from their experiences and interests
  • add to others’ ideas
  • choose an idea to pursue