Location of the Project
The Light Up the Night project is located at West Middle School 3301 West 19th Street in Sioux City IA, 51103. All of the shows will run from 6-8 P.M. Friday and Saturday Nights starting November 27, 2015 and ending December 18, 2015. This will be the last opportunity to see this project. Please see the upcoming events section for more details.
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About the Project
The Light Up the Night project was created as part of redesigning a Technology curriculum to become a more engaging class for students. We wanted to incorporate not only technology in the class but enhance the material buy adding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) as well as 21st century skills (Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity) into the class. This project has done just that. Students are learning science not only through the obvious electrical components but physics have been incorporated as well. Technology is incorporated through setting up of the controller network as well as the programming of the lights through a computer program. Students enhanced there Engineering skills through the building of the mini light trees, and the light rings for the project. The famous student question of why do I need to learn about Pi? was even answered when students had to make a specific sized light ring and had to use Pi in the circumference formula.
As for students incorporating 21st Century Skills, the project has made student's have to think critically. Students needed to make sure they were plugging in the lights in series in order to make sure every bulb turns on as well as the sequencing of the light show forces students to think through the process of the network in order to get lights to function the way they want them too. Collaboration skills were enhanced throughout the project because students had to work with each other on the rings for the light show, as well as finding music for the show. The student's Communication skills were even put to the test when they taught the Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman, as well as other Directors and Administrators from the district how to build mini light trees for the project. Finally the students are showing how creative they are when programming the lights in the show.
To give you an idea of the size of this project there are 81,800 lights used throughout this project. The light show includes 54 Mini Trees, 14 LED light rings, 12 Cosimic Color Ribbons, 17 ft mega Cosmic Color tree, 4- 8ft Marty Fans, 4 22 ft leaping arches, 4- 1000 light singing faces, 1000 light 4 channel star, and a 1000 sq. ft. light wall. There are 352 programmed channels (this has been calculated using the competition rules for Cosmic Color Ribbon Controllers). The show is over 70 ft wide by 25 ft tall. Additionally, there is over 20 miles of wire used throughout this project.
As for students incorporating 21st Century Skills, the project has made student's have to think critically. Students needed to make sure they were plugging in the lights in series in order to make sure every bulb turns on as well as the sequencing of the light show forces students to think through the process of the network in order to get lights to function the way they want them too. Collaboration skills were enhanced throughout the project because students had to work with each other on the rings for the light show, as well as finding music for the show. The student's Communication skills were even put to the test when they taught the Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman, as well as other Directors and Administrators from the district how to build mini light trees for the project. Finally the students are showing how creative they are when programming the lights in the show.
To give you an idea of the size of this project there are 81,800 lights used throughout this project. The light show includes 54 Mini Trees, 14 LED light rings, 12 Cosimic Color Ribbons, 17 ft mega Cosmic Color tree, 4- 8ft Marty Fans, 4 22 ft leaping arches, 4- 1000 light singing faces, 1000 light 4 channel star, and a 1000 sq. ft. light wall. There are 352 programmed channels (this has been calculated using the competition rules for Cosmic Color Ribbon Controllers). The show is over 70 ft wide by 25 ft tall. Additionally, there is over 20 miles of wire used throughout this project.
This project also has become a service learning project thanks to the West Middle School Student Council. The student council will be selling candy canes and collecting donations for 4 charities throughout the duration of the light show. The charities who will receive proceeds from the donations are as follows: The American Heart Association, Noah's Hope, Toys 4 Tots, and Siouxland Soldiers Foundation. |