Young Learners Discover Circular Economics in HS Design Lab

Young Learners Discover Circular Economics in HS Design Lab

Junior Grade 1 students entered the MYP Design laboratory with old bottle caps and contact lens blisters. They left with personalized key chains.  

The students were on a mission to discover circular economics and upcycling: how we can repurpose waste into a completely new and useful item. MYP Design Teacher Pim Arora helped facilitate the activity between the young learners and the High School's Precious Plastics student club. They toured the design workshop and learned how machines shred bottle caps into miniature plastic pellets, mold them together, and then cut them into keychains, using a laser cutter, that were the shape of the letter of each student’s first name. 

“This visit was the first event in a new series of collaborations among teachers and students across WAB’s IB programs,” Pim said. “This will serve as a prototype for how we can continue to utilize our resources to create impactful experiences and continuity throughout our students’ learning journeys.” 

The Grade 10 Middle Years Programme Design students, who one would normally find in labs, are beginning their work on a similar unit: Repurposing old event banners into fashion or accessories. Stay tuned to see the work they come up with in the coming weeks.