Self on a Shelf

FOR A PROJECT called In Our Hearts and On Our Shelves, 6th grade students shared stories about themselves by filling the shelves of miniature bookcases, 5 inch by 5 inch, with books and items that they enjoy. In total, 55 bookcases — one per student — were made and displayed prominently at the Lower School. The project was a collaboration between the Language Arts and Innovation Departments. Language Arts Department Chair Christine Dwyer provided the students with questions to help them determine which books and items portray their authentic selves — questions like, “If you curated a mini-museum, what might you include?” Then, in Innovation class, the students laser-cut, sanded, and painted the bookshelves. They learned software (Adobe Illustrator and Tinkercad) to design covers for their books and to precisely size the items to scale and used the 3D printer to make some of the objects. Innovation Teacher Sarah Magner guided the students in the bookcase production. Sarah initiated the project after receiving her own miniature bookcase from her daughter, Flint Hill alum Abby Magner ’16, who filled her mini-bookshelf with books that her mother read to her during childhood.