What is Think Big Cafe?
Think Big Cafe is a program that only 2 schools out of 209 schools in MCPS participate in. Those schools are Stone Mill ES, (I go there) and Wheaton Woods ES. The two major events are the Scrap Arts concert, and getting to meet Mr. C. You get to do projects about water conservation for 5 weeks (it’s really fun)! At Stone Mill, all of the 4th graders helps make a rain barrel. At Wheaton Woods, the whole grade makes a poster that has a drawing of a utopia in the ocean, and dystopia in the ocean.
Scrap Arts and Mr. C
Scrap Arts Music is a group of people that make instruments out of recycled materials or just things they find in junkyards. This band plays concerts for kids all over the United States. A lot of the instruments they p
lay are made up, but some aren’t, like the drums. All of the instruments make cool sounds, but the one I found the most interesting was the marine vessel tube. The inside and outside of this tube is bumpy, so when you spin it, you will hear a beautiful sound. Once I heard the sound I thought it sounded somewhat like a whale or a dolphin! Mr. C is an artist who also just uses recycled materials to make creatures. He welds the metal together and most of his animals are from an exhibit about creatures in the future. The first thing he told us about the exhibit was, “If we keep on littering, animals will adapt to our environment looking like this.” He also sews circuit boards together, and it looks pretty cool!
Water Conservation Projects
In Stone Mill you get to do water conservation projects. First, you get the materials you need either from your house or the material room. Once you have all the materials, you make a plan. Then you actually get to build. Your project has to have something to do with water, so I made a Hydro-Powered Plane. It took many weeks to build and many weeks to repair, but finally it’s done. We put some blue tissue paper to make it a blue plane, since it has to do with water. Many people had other amazing ideas like marble runs, rain instruments, and model beaches! On May 30, 2019 we presented our projects to the 3rd graders, and our parents. The MCPS superintendent was supposed to come, but he didn’t. We also made a rain barrel, which will stay in our school for many years to come.
I hope you liked my blog! Think Big Cafe was a fun experience for everyone! 😁
