“I wish I could go back to Second Grade, so I could do these activities!” Every February at Makerfest, Viewpoint’s three-day, annual festival of hands-on activities for Primary and Lower School students and their families, the teachers hear these same wistful remarks, and this year was no exception. On February 7-9, the children invited their family members to try out many of the fun and inventive “maker” activities that they do as part of their regular Innovation Space classes, each with a Valentine’s Day twist. 

Held in the School’s Innovation Space and Benjamin Franklin Library, the students in Grades TK-5 and their families had the chance to visit 32 cleverly named booths with activities designed for the different age groups that include collaborative and codable LEGO stations, custom temporary tattoos featuring our Makerfest Robot, Big Noggins photo booth, Pipe Dreams pipe engineering design, STAMPede leather stamping, robotics, wired quilt art, Sounds of Makerfest podcasting station, rocket building and launching, and many more new booths.

Makerfest is a true labor of love for Innovation Space teachers Lisa Kessler and Travis Shojinaga, and Primary and Lower School Technology Integration Specialist Alison Steelberg Corneau '97. The booths were staffed by enthusiastic faculty, staff, and Upper School students from across campus, making it a unique community-building event. 

Lisa Kessler said, "The highlight of Makerfest is seeing the Primary and Lower School students and their guests trying new things and applying learned skills.  Some of the booths included designs and materials created by the students themselves, using the computer-aided design program Tinkercad, and the classroom 3D printers and laser cutter."

A reporter from the Calabasas Patch attended the first day of the festival and posted this story.