We warmed up by viewing film clips of Coney Island in the 1940’s and 50’s. This gave students time to reflect and compare their own Coney Island with other classmates. We then had a collaborative brainstorming session on a giant piece of paper to come up with our own model for an amusement park. While this led to really brilliant ideas, it also led to the second step: design. Students were challenged to work together to develop a floor-plan for the park. They then teamed up to work together on parts of the park that most excited them. This included different rides and amusements including “Arcadia” arcade, “Your Worst Nightmare”, a ride that includes a high power fan that blows the rider on to a trampoline. Also, Mini Funtopia for tiny tots and much more! An added challenge was using recycled materials. In many cases, the materials helped to inspire ideas.
