So much to do, so little time...

Here's an example of what the orthographic drawing will look like.

(courtesy of Robert Gardner)

Yesterday, our group finally got in touch with Mr. Massad, the head of Wood Shop at Kamehameha, and received the valuable input that will help to make our detailed design better than it already is. He told us to add more detail to the dimensions of the bench by describing the wood type, size of the screws, plan and schedule for the bench, etc. Additionally, instead of using the front view sketch that Max drew for our design, Mr. Massad proposed that we do as his students do and create an orthographic drawing that shows 3 views and the dimensions of the bench instead: front, back, and isometric view. So now, Nicole and I were going to draw this "orthographic drawing" and give it to Mr. Massad the next time we see him. Also, there is a list of things remaining before the deadline of the project: I have to rewrite the schedule, Max and Nicole must build the project, Kipa must make the educational flyer that will hang near the bench, and Kipa and I must write the final report and oral presentation. Because of all of this, all I can say is "There is so much to do, in so little time..."

Hope

Our time to build was severely shortened after our first attempt to gain Administration approval was unsuccessful.Happily though, the supplies we ordered arrived today just a day after we asked for them. Granted we have less than a week to introduce a prototype on time, my group remains confident. We made a lot of progress today by marking the wood, loading it into Nicole's car, and bringing it to the wood shop, and will continue to keep moving forward. Max and Nicole have been designated to work on the Bench while Taylor and I will work on the presentation, and analysis.

7 days and counting....

With just 7 days left until our prototype is to be deployed, our group can feel the pressure building up. The good thing is that we are on our way to jumping back on the right path. We ordered the exact wood blocks needed to create our bench and our design looks solid. We are hoping that by tomorrow, we will have our materials all bought and ready to mold into our "social bench of the Midkiff lawn". If construction starts tomorrow, then we only have 6 days to build our bench. That's an extremely small amount of time. We really need to buckle down and get to work because we are an entire week behind schedule and need to do a lot of work if we want to finish our bench on time. I'm confident with the other aspects of our project, which are going along rather smoothly. By the time we have to put our bench out into the open, I believe that we will have a very successful project indeed.

http://outdoorpatiosets.com/images/products/detail/BB60_backless5ftbench_sil.jpg

Tying the loose ends together

Today was a very productive day.  We, as a group, were able to put the finishing touches on our detailed design. Yes i know its kind of late but I guess it's better late then never, right? We were able to finalize our dimensions and add the physics application to it.  I think that we work well as a group together and today we came to the conclusion of how we were going to equally distribute the work.  It basically came down to who was eligible to work in the wood shop (Me and Max) while the others (Kipa and Jo) worked on the final paper.  In class we actually decided on the accurate dimensions and the type of wood we would use.  Max did some research out of class and told us that redwood would be more suitable for us to use because it is a little sturdier and would probably last longer.  I feel like we are on our way to a great start!

kirsch-korff.com

New and Improved Bench Design

These are the measurements for our bench design. I have listed in the paper the materials needed as well as the measurements and a rough draft of the final product

Finally!!!! :D

As mentioned in the previous post, one of the biggest tasks for our groups recently was to gain approval from Administration. Because of a conflict in schedules, our group was not able to meet with Mrs. Martin the last time we were together. Today, however, was a completely different story. After finding a reply in my inbox from Mrs. Martin, we rushed down to talk to her as soon as possible. After waiting for an apparently more eager group to finish (who apparently sprinted to her before us), we went in, nervous and not exactly sure what to expect. Imagine our reaction when to our surprise, Mrs. Martin was very open and flexible to our request. Though she did mention a few things for us to fix, overall the meeting went well. This also means were THAT much closer to actually building!!

One step forward, two steps back....

Today, we planned on giving Ms. Martin a visit in order to propose our project and get approval so that we could commence with the creation of it. Unfortunately, Ms. Martin had an important meeting with Mr. Ako and we were declined our opportunity. We now, are taking extensive measures to make sure that we can meet with Ms. Martin without any excuses or interruptions on the date that works for all of us. Ivan Sakamoto has agreed to meet with us tomorrow, which will hopefully lift us out of the rut that we have been in for so long now. Another positive thing is that we have a pretty good idea of what we want to create. Yesterday I made a stable design of a wooden bench and today I planned out the dimensions. Hopefully my design gets approved by Mr. Sakamoto and Mr. Massade allows us to use his facilities to complete our project.

A little behind schedule.

Today was the due date for the detailed design and I must say we were a little behind.  We thought that a little additions to our proposal would be adequate but that was clearly not the case.  When Mr. Blake came to talk to us he said he wanted more of a set schedule on what we were going to do and who was going to do what.  Our groups participation has been amazing.  Everyone has been doing their jobs and it helps our group project move a lot more smoothly.  In class today we created a projected timeline which included what we would do in everyday.  Looking ahead in the short run we are going to talk to Mrs. Martin and Mr. Ivan Sakamoto to see if we could get our project approved.  We also emailed Mr. Massad to see if it was possible to use some resources from the wood shop to construct this bench.  I honestly think that we are a little behind in our plan making but if we start getting things approved our project will progress smoothly.

mabryonline.org

Continuing to smooth out the edges...

http://www.dannylipford.com/images/article/how-build-wooden-outdoor-bench-8.jpg
On Friday the 15th most of our group was missing due to a Senior Beach Day. Even though this posed as a challenge to Max and I, which it kind of did, Max and I set the game plan for our group by creating a simple timeline that would later be edited by the others and an e-mail to send to Mr. Ivan Sakamoto, a member of the Kamehameha Operation Support Division and a carpenter who can build a bench. When we sent our e-mail, we asked Mr. Sakamoto for his mana’o on the subject matter and if he was available for a possible interview by our group. He e-mailed me back yesterday, saying that he will be rejoiced to help us, asking when the best time for a meeting would be. I have yet to consult with my group members, but when I do, we will add more onto our list of things to do that will make the project a success.

Smoothing out the rough edges.

Tomorrow is a new week in school, but that also means it'll be the first time our group meets up after a 4 day period of separation. Our current task aside from the whats mentioned in our proposal (and as you might've figured from the title of this blog post), is to basically smooth and clean up the bugs in our proposal, and present a much more formal and detailed one for that matter to Mr. Blake on Tuesday. Some of the comments he made involved formulating a very specific budget, narrowing in on specifics about the structure of our later to-be-built table and bench set, along with a few minor things like organizing the actual proposal to flow a little better in terms of how it's read. Overall though, the impression and reactions observed after the presentation of our initial proposal seem to be saying 'go for it', and so we as a group will be going all in from the start. Tomorrow will be crucial in the finalizing of the second draft to our proposal.

http://www.londonjoiners.com/finishes/french_polishing1.jpg

Another day of seperation

It seems as if our group is apart more than it is together.  Today Max and Jo were the only ones in class while Kipa was at the senior picnic and I was in Reno.  I feel as if we are progressing a lot individually which is a good thing because when we meet we would have to think of ideas and waste valuable collaborating time.  As the detailed design deadline is approaching we as a group feel that we have to settle on what exactly we are going to do.  Once we figure out everything the next step for us is to go talk to Mrs. Martin and get her approval but like Coach Chris said in our proposal analysis we must have a clear and concise plan before we go to her.  I feel that we are on the right path and if we get this approved we are starting a foundation for bigger projects.

Continuing to think...

Even though we began the rough draft of our proposal, our group still needs to think “short-term” rather than the “long-term” that Mr. Blake described in his Question and Answer session after we introduced our proposal. Our cement idea was considered a bit on the drastic side, so we are deciding between a plastic and wood bench and table. Additionally, instead of hiring others to do the job for us, Mr. Blake proposed that we build it ourselves to add a stronger physics component. The only problem with building it out of plastic is that it will be hard to construct it out of the plastic. We would maybe build it out of wood; however, the problem is the deterioration and the fear of the wood being warped from the rain. Even though these things will be problems, our basic objective is to get a prototype out into the wild.

The arrival of a dreaded day.

Our project has officially begun to take real flight, as today was the day for presentations on proposals. The deadline for the proposal snuck up on each of us, and somehow over just one night (no kidding) we were able to write one. The presentation that was made on it consisted of summarizing what was written. We mentioned some of the background to our problem, the intended solution broken down into a five steps, and a general timeline, budget, and supplies list as well. To top it off,e the presentation and idea itself was critiqued afterwards by Mr. Blake and we also had to answer questions. I guess in the near future, when our bigger presentations in front of a formal audience is made, the experience of this smaller scale one will be appreciated.

Surveying the Area

Today, we realized that our proposal deadline had been creeping up on us. Tomorrow, our 2-3 page proposal is due and we have to start getting down the specifics and mapping out exactly what we are going to do and when. Today, we took a trip down to the area that we are planning to create our project at, our journey can be seen here, and surveyed the land and ultimately decided what we wanted and where we wanted it. We decided on creating a rectangular table with units of about 5'x2'x2' with benches on the long sides of the table with dimensions of 5'x1'x1'. We believe this is a great idea because it allows students to hang out and do homework in an area that isn't even utilized for anything by anyone. The area is isolated enough that if students are loud, they won't be a distraction to teachers and students in classes. We are planning on raising money for the costs of the construction and will be drafting the table's structure very soon. Our group is very excited on getting this project going and are anxious to present our idea to administration.

Our video of today's adventure can be found on youtube by copying this link and pasting this in your url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWJVdblnPrE

Working on an off day?

My group members and I have learned that we need to work on this project outside of class days.  When we first heard Mrs. Melahn's idea we were thrilled.  We knew this was clearly not going to be one of those overnight projects.  I think that since we were all excited about this idea we were all willing to put some extra time and effort to construct this idea.  To hear that Mrs. Melahn's idea was at first rejected was appalling.  She believed that students proposing this idea to administration was a very important aspect of connecting the students to administration.  I am so glad that we trademarked our idea. :)

hauslife.wordpress.com

Planning

As Max said in his previous post, our goal is to give life to Mrs. Melahn's idea by creating a social spot for the students on Konia. Our idea not only utilizes available space but also lures the noise away from the halls by creating another place where students can hang out and study. By Wednesday, we need to create our proposal: plan, budget, and connection to physics. One idea was to place chairs and tables in the area. An innovative idea thought of by another group was to create a fold out bench that will hang on the walls of the hallways as a solution to hallway congestion in the mornings. We still need to discuss further on our plans; however, our table idea will be the first of many. (Photo from: http://somuchdamage.com/)

Presenting.....

Most teachers are kind enough to cut some slack during PM schedule by assigning little to do during in class seeing that time is severely shortened on these days, but Mr. Blake unfortunately is not one of these teachers. In class on friday, groups were asked to give a short 2-3 minute presentation on their interviews which as formerly mentioned was an assignment during the week. Even with a missing member of our team (Max), our team was still asked to present. I began with a brief explanation on our first set of interviews and how because of the type of questions asked, the responses we got were very broad. Taylor and Nicole then flowed into discussing about the results of our interviews after creating an entirely new set of interview questions that were meant to steer the interviewee (Mrs. Melahn) down a narrower path. After proposing our plan to create a 'hangout' area for the student body, it was the groups turn to listen to other presentations. To my surprise at least...2 other groups had similar Ideas.

Final Topic

On thursday, our entire group went in to interview Mrs. Melahn, hoping to receive some ideas for Ho'oulu ia Kamehameha. Mrs. Melahn was ecstatic when she heard about our project and fed us an idea that she has tried to get fixed for over a decade at this school. My group and I listened intently and soon enough, we too had our mouths grinning with excitement at the sound of a perfect topic. We plan on changing either Konia Field or the vacant area by the ulu tree, between the student parking lot and Konia cirlce, into a social area for high school students to hang out. This is such a simple idea that can definitely be accomplished and the solution can definitely be relatable to physics (through construction and gravity.....we'll figure it out). The addition of a social area will change the environment of Konia and move the distracting noise that students create in their free periods to a place that is far from the classrooms. Everybody wins with our project and our group is ready to make it a reality.

Who said this was going to be easy?

I'm sure as humans we want everything to go our way but usually there are some barriers that prevent that from happening.  Today was pretty much an interview day. In the previous class we discussed our groups work plan for the week and with deadlines approaching there is not much time to procrastinate.  I was in charge of conducting an interview with Mrs. Melahn but she was unable to come to our scheduled interview time because of personal reasons.  This obstacle was not a major one but it gave me a smaller time frame to get my personal information I acquired from the interview to the rest of my group members.  Our goal for the interview portion of this project was to gather a little more topic suggestions from outspoken teachers around campus.  We as a group feel like this is a very important step to determining our final topic.

bgsu.edu

Heal the World...of Kamehameha

We the students of Kamehameha Schools are the Michael Jacksons of Hawaii. Through this physics project, we will make our small hawaiian community on Kapalama into a "better place," we will bring smiles to the faces of the faculty and administration, we will give back to our Princess, and we will generate hope throughout our student body that will echo into Kalihi Valley. Here is a song that broadens the horizons of our purpose and extends them throughout the world. Enjoy.

Best welcome back ever...-_-'

Today was the first day back from spring break that our group spent together. The majority of us (including myself), didn't touch this project during that time. It's only thanks to Max that the two posts that was required during the break went up (Thank you Max ^ ^). During our discussion of the project, we tried to zoom in on problems from the bug boy list we already made that were narrow enough to fit the profile of what is needed for this project. After some (heated) discussion, we were able to cut the list down to about 4 topics. They are-
1) Re-aligning sprinklers so that they actually shoot plants and not create a hazard on the walkway
2) Restoring the entrance sign at the very bottom of the hill that almost NOBODY knows exists
3)Doing something about the 'Gum wall'
and lastly,
4) Bettering the traffic directing situation in the morning.
Whatever we decide, our biggest obstacle will probably be to somehow apply Physics to whatever problem we do end up taking on. Our next step is to get more input from staff members via Interviews.

Sometimes we settle for less

(http://www.hyscience.com/archives/wwwv6_main_photos8.jpg)

After looking over my group's bug list, I am almost surprised at how easily four students came up with so many problems that our school has, some mild and others pretty serious. Looking at other group's lists, I find it just as amazing that most of these problems seem to be popping up in both period's bug lists. How can such a prestigious school have so many problems and yet, so many people are entirely happy with the product. Countless families put their children through registration every year in order to see that their children get the education that Kamehameha offers its students. I'm thinking that I have to be grateful for getting in to this wonderful school and receiving an education that other children my age would die for. Yet, why can't I wish for more? I think that with all the talk about "be happy with what you have", people forget to try and improve this imperfect world. Sure, you need to be appreciative, but nothing is perfect. I see now that it is important to want to improve. Why settle for what you have when you can make it even better. No matter what our group decides to pick for our topic, I know that it will help Kamehameha Schools become a better place and move its reputation even higher.

Bug List Link

By clicking here you will be redirected to our "bug list", which contains some of the many problems here at Kamehameha Schools