Young imaginations took the driver’s seat as kindergartners at Punahou School recently transformed favorite storybook characters into moving creations during a Design, Technology and Engineering (DTE) lesson led by Liz Castillo and Danette Kobayashi in partnership with Leni Nakao-Yamada’s kindergarten class.
Each student selected a beloved character and thoughtfully considered what their character’s car would need versus want – from wheels and engines to shiny details, food storage and the perfect number of seats. After planning their ideas on worksheets, students headed to the DTE workshop where cardboard, wooden sticks and glue guns became tools for innovation.
With creativity and teamwork on full display, the young designers built and tested their handmade cars by sending them down a ramp to see if they could roll successfully. The project combined storytelling, engineering and problem-solving while giving students an exciting hands-on learning experience that brought their storybook worlds to life.
