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An earthquake-inspired education programme developed in Christchurch has been recognised at the annual international Fab Lab conference in Toulouse, France.
QuakeCraft received the global Chevron STEM award. The awards celebrate education programmes in Fab Labs around the world. An international panel of judges picked QuakeCraft as the stand out of 35 entries from around the world.
According to Bridget McKendry of Fab Lab Christchurch, QuakeCraft was a response to the Christchurch earthquakes. “We wanted to take the unique experience of the quakes and turn it into a positive learning opportunity,” she said.
Students from more than 20 South Island schools designed and tested a variety of building sizes and construction techniques. The idea was that they used digital fabrication machines to create buildings that were then tested on a “shake table,” which could then be set to mimic the Christchurch earthquakes, the Kaikoura quakes or even simulate the full magnitude of a rupture of the Alpine Fault.
“The whole programme can be digitally exported,” said Fab Lab founder Carl Pavletich. “Any school with access to a Fab Lab or with its own digital fabrication tools can use our files to make all the components locally.”
Oxford Area School participated in the New Zealand trial. Teacher Justin Thompson said he will make the programme a regular part of his classes because he could see the benefits for children who are academically focused, as well as those who aren’t.
Quake Centre and QuakeCoRE Outreach coordinator Brandy Alger, meanwhile, said: “By creating a fun, hands-on way to learn about community and structural resilience, QuakeCraft can change the way youth think about natural disasters and encourage innovative solutions while still learning about maths, physics and social science.”
Fab Lab Christchurch, QuakeCoRE and the University of Canterbury’s Quake Centre developed QuakeCraft with funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)’s Curious Minds programme.
