Experiments, Experiences, and Escapades: GFS Middle School MiniCourses

Exploring Aerodynamics – The CO₂ Race Project: From Block to Blast Off 

(Clockwise, from top left): Students first built balloon-powered cars from K'nex to learn about aerodynamics and angles of force; Graham McNiff '32 paints his car in preparation for the race; students raced their CO₂ dragsters through the halls of the Sharpless Building; George Pao '31 examines the shape of his race car.

Designed and taught by: Gregor Kelsey (Seventh Grade Science, Seventh Grade Dean), Rachel Fuld (Woodshop), and Erin Funck (Learning & Assessment Specialist, Eighth Grade Advisor, Scotland Exchange Program Coordinator)

This class invited students to play, tinker, and experiment while seeing how science, engineering, and imagination connect. The central project was designing and crafting CO2-powered racecars. The group started by learning about the concepts of aerodynamics and how differently shaped vehicles respond to speed and air resistance. To test their theories about aerodynamics, the class constructed vehicles from K’nex (interlocking construction toys) that had to complete tasks like racing down a ramp with an open cup attached to their car. 

“The students experimented with adding construction paper to make the cars more aerodynamic, and did some research into the idea of vectors and angles of force,” said Kelsey. “These minibuilds give students a sense of how that will work later on in the project, because they are powered by balloons, which is the closest thing to CO2 power.

Mid-week, they ventured to the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. Surrounded by a world-class collection of classic race cars, students studied the evolution of speed, analyzing how the marriage of aerodynamic engineering and iconic styling defined the history of automotive racing. 

Then, each student received a triangle of wood, which they shaped and sanded in the woodshop. These became the foundation of their dragster cars, which were then given custom paint jobs and kitted out with wheels and CO2 cartridges to power them. 

On Friday, the students raced their cars, using sensors to track the winners. There were lots of cheers as the cars zoomed down the Sharpless hallway!

Public Art

(Clockwise, from top left): Students in the Public Art MiniCourse show their "granny graffiti" affirmations; Irene Zhao '31 measures out tape for the class sculpture; Ben Schulman '31 drills holes into the cardboard flowers; Vienna Reuter '32 organizes the flowers by color.

Designed and taught by: Anna Greenawalt (Seventh Grade Math) and Soo Lee (Seventh Grade History)

This MiniCourse introduced students to some of Philadelphia’s incredible murals, sculptures, and other forms of public art that amplify community voices, make social and political statements, and represent neighborhood pride. 

Students explored the city’s dynamic public art offerings through mural walks and visits with art professionals, including Jane Golden, the founder and executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, and textile artist (and GFS parent) Carole Loeffler. They also took a field trip to the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill. 

“At Woodmere, we saw and talked about a lot of sculptures, and then we walked around Germantown looking at murals,” reported seventh grader Ben Schulman. “We talked about what makes something public art: if it’s accessible for everyone, like if it’s in a public space where anyone from any background can go.”  

Schulman and his classmates also planned, designed, and created a piece of public art for the GFS campus. Inspired by famed artist Dale Chihuly’s hanging flower installations, they created a large, colorful hanging sculpture for the lobby of the Sharpless building. The students chose an ombre palette of sunset-themed colors to brighten up the space.

The class cut apart cardboard egg cartons sourced from the community, and rounded each egg cup to look like flowers. Each flower shape was painted a shade of orange, pink, or yellow. The students then took turns drilling holes into the flowers and knotting them onto long strings, which were attached to a central piece to make a mobile. 

“The students designed this entire thing!” said teacher Anna Greenawalt. “It will make a really nice companion piece to the ‘Inspire’ mural in another stairwell that we made in this MiniCourse last year.”

Sew Savvy!

(Clockwise, from top left): Tiny felted creatures made by students in Sew Savvy!; shopping for thread and yarn at Rittenhouse Needlepoint; Anna Manovski '31 (left) and Aislinn Poulos-Hopkins '32 (right) working on their DIY fashion magazine; Bowie Myers '31 (left) and Kelly Tan '30 (right) working on a sewing machine.

Designed and taught by: Gabby Goodman (Middle School History, Sixth Grade Advisor), Hayley Varhol (Middle and Upper School Music), and Rachel Marcus (History Department Faculty Intern)

Sew Savvy! familiarized students with basic methods for mending and embellishing garments, like repairing tears and rips and sewing on patches and buttons. With the help and advice of the teachers, the group learned hand-sewing and how to use a sewing machine, as well as other skills, such as needlepoint, embroidery, darning, and felting.

Projects included felting small animals and landscapes, upcycling secondhand clothes to make them customized and personalized, and working on visible mending. By the end of the week, the classroom was festooned with colorful swatches of fabric, shiny buttons, scraps of ribbon, and one-of-a-kind garments. 

Some students even decided to start their own fashion magazine, Sew Stabby Savvy. One of these students, seventh grader Anna Manovski, noted that while she had dabbled in sewing before, the MiniCourse gave her a chance to experiment with new techniques. 

“I had some sewing skills already, but this class really helped elevate them!” she said. 

Off-campus adventures included jaunts to local thrift stores and a visit to Rittenhouse Needlepoint, a locally-owned craft shop in Center City, where students shopped for needlepoint yarn and thread and received small-group instruction on needlepoint stitches and techniques.