P.S. 176 holds its first annual Maker Faire

It was an innovative and creative wonderland at P.S. 176, the Ovington School, 1225 Bay Ridge Avenue, as the school hosted its first Maker Faire.

The fair, dubbed ‘the greatest show-and-tell celebration on Earth,” mixes science, math and other subjects, encouraging students to use their imagination to create something unique.

The young students were the stars on Wednesday, March 30 as they set up shop around the school with their projects for faculty, parents and fellow classmates to observe.

According to Elizabeth Culkin, the school’s principal, the Maker Faire reflects the priorities of the STEAM program, which includes science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

“Here they are thinkers, creators, designers and engineers. It is that inspiration that we capture,” she said. “You can see that each one tells something about themselves, the maker and project. This fair is all about creation and inspiration.”

Unlike other events that focus on one subject, Culkin added, it is the diversity of the projects that made the day unique. “When we do a science fair, we limit it and we say this is what the curricula says and this is what you should be making on this grade,” she added. “But as you go through here and you look at the different projects, it’s amazing.”

Among the projects were robots, an automatic feeding station for dogs, a catapult designed to shoot balls in a mini-basketball net, and a computer program that reenacted the Aztec civilization.

After months of hard work, the kids were eager to show off their creations.

“It’s a new experiment so it’s a little bit scary, but it’s real fun,” said youngster Alice Lin Zheng, who built a guitar. “I love music and I play piano but I wanted to make something that I hadn’t played before. It took me around 12 days to make. I bought wood from Home Depot and nail polish. I used fishing lines for strings.”

Ingrid Morocho decided she wanted to make her own board game. “I made a game called Monster Kickball. You get two people — one to put the ball in the tube, the other to control the monster to hit the ball — and if you win 250 points, you get a prize,” she said. “I love to play games and I was thinking of one to make for this project.”

Ryan Ceron created his own robot from the popular “Minecraft” video game with boxes and a remote control car attached to the bottom, allowing it to move. “I put an opening in the front of the body so it can carry books and stuff,” he proudly said.

Science teacher Ellyana Drake was thrilled with how the event turned out. “Everybody worked so hard. We really raised the bar high and they hit the marks,” she said. “It has exceeded my expectations. The children really had a lot of fun and they were creative, and that shines through their project.”