Humboldt County Office of Education: 2022 Student Showcase | GATE Academy

Space Mini Museum

• School: Fortuna Middle School
• Grade: 7
• Project Type: Mini Museum

Project Description

Lluvia created a mini space museum using recycled materials. She created most of the items in the museum by hand. The museum includes such items as the Discovery Space Shuttle, the Curiosity Rover, Neil Armstrong’s space suit, moon dust, and the solar system.

Student Comment

My name is Lluvia Aguilar and I am in seventh grade. I chose to do a “Mini Museum” that was space themed because I love space and find it absolutely fascinating. It is a boundless black void, and yet, we live in it. I loved doing this project and I also learned a lot from it. It is a really good form of making learning fun.

Coordinator Comment

Lluvia did an amazing job creating her museum. She used recycled materials to create the museum and most of its contents. She conducted a lot of research on space and space travel. Her museum is informational and is pleasing to the eye.

Saving Our Home First

• School: Washington Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Superheroes Save Our Planet

Project Description

Lily created a presentation with the theme “Let’s help our planet first, before exploring new ones!”

Coordinator Comment

Lily worked for the past few weeks on this project with very little support from the school. She is an independent worker who is excited to advocate for a healthy planet.

Sands of Time: World War I Trench

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 8
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

Mason created a replica of a World War One Trench. After researching the topic, he collected most of his supplies from around his house to build the replica. He carved out a piece of Styrofoam for the trench.  He created sand bags, barbed wire, crates, battlements, boards, and a ladder.

Student Comment

While researching interesting things to create, I was finding nothing interesting. All ancient buildings and structures just seemed boring, with not much to them. Then as I was reading a book about building foundations, I saw what looked liked a trench and then it hit me, the world wars were a major time in history so I decided to do a WWI trench. I chose WWI because they had less technology, which in my mind made them more interesting.

Coordinator Comment

Mason’s replica of a World War1 trench is spectacular. He created his own sandbags, barbed wire, crates, and more.

Bodiam Castle

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 7
• Project Type: Sands of Tme

Project Description

Chloe built a replica of Bodiam Castle. She  created Bodiam Castle using recycled materials. She cut pieces of cardboard and glued them together. She then painted the castle and added details.

Student Comment

I built a replica of Bodiam Castle. I thought this GATE challenge was very interesting and I liked the concept in the first place. Everyone in my class that did the “Sands of Time” project made an absolutely amazing job building and it was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the project and I had a lot of fun making it.

Coordinator Comment

Chloe wanted to build a replica of a building that is not well known. During her research, she came across Bodiam Castle and thought that it would be fun to replicate.

The Colossus of Rhodes, One of the Seven Wonders of the World

• School: Washington Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

The student wrote a report on the Colossus of Rhode. We will be submitting the project as a Word document.

Student Comment

I like ancient buildings, and this is one of my favorites.

Coordinator Comment

Wyatt is an inquisitive, independent student who loves science and history.

My Superhero: Ozone

• School: Washington Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Create a Garden

Project Description

The student created a Google Slide presentation about her superhero, “Ozone.”

Student Comment

It was fun to do because I want to save the planet.

Project Description

Alaina researched and designed this project independently. She is a studious, creative student with a desire to save Earth.

Van Gogh Mini Muesum

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Mini Museum

Project Description

Gracie created a mini art museum of Vincent Van Gogh. She printed out color copies of Van Gogh’s most famous works and arranged them like an art gallery.

Student Comment

I decided to do a Van Gogh mini Museum. I have always wanted to do some sort of project on Van Gogh but never had the option, so I decided this was a perfect opportunity.

Coordinator Comment

Gracie has always been interested in art and artists. She knew right away what she wanted to do for the GATE challenge.

Plantman

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Superheroes Save Our Planet

Project Description

Michael chose the Superheroes challenge. He decided to use Pixton to create a digital comic strip. 

Student Comment

I did the “Superheroes Save the World” GATE Academy project. I did it because it seemed fun and easy. It was very cool and fun.

Coordinator Comment

Michael is very artistic and chose to create a comic strip for his challenge. He enjoys using Pixton, an online comic creator. He picked wildfires as the issue due to the fact that we have had so many in Northern California.

Dory the Superhero

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Superheroes Save Our Planet

Project Description

Sofia created a superhero in Pixton, an online comic creator. Her superhero is interested in saving Earth’s oceans. Her superhero, Dory, talks about pollution, acidification, and coral bleaching. Her sidekick, Wade, helps by being able to talk to marine life.

Student Comment

I chose to do “Super Heroes Save our Planet” 2022 GATE Academy Challenge because,  I’ve always been interested in making comics, and I have made comics before.  When I realized you could make comics digitally, I decided to do Super Heroes Save Our Planet.

Coordinator Comment

Sofia loves comics and thought this would be a great way to create her superhero. She decided to use ocean pollution as her main topic. She added another student as a sidekick who can speak to the animals. they had fun creating a fake language using letters and symbols.

Penny’s History Museum

• School: Washington Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Mini Museum

Project Description

The student submitted a diorama of a natural history museum. In order to show it digitally, she then took pictures of the diorama and made a slide show with those pictures.

Student Comment

I made a history museum about cavemen and dinosaurs because I didn’t know much about them and I wanted to learn more. It was a lot of fun. I especially liked making the background of the diorama.

Coordinator Comment

Penny is a creative student that really enjoyed taking on the challenge of this project. She exhibited her knowledge in a creative, expressive way.

The Pyramid of Menkaure

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 7
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

Eryn used recycled materials to create a replica of the Pyramid of Menkaure.

Student Comment

I chose to do the “Sands of Time” 2022 GATE Academy Challenge on the Pyramid of Menkaure. I really enjoyed doing this project and learning about the Pyramid of Menkaure. Building the model was challenging, but it was very fun to create. I would like to do a similar project in the future.

Coordinator Comment

Eryn was excited to work on the lesser known pyramid. She created the pyramid out of a cardboard box and then used sharpies to add details.

Peyton and Rhianna’s Music Maker

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 5 & 7
• Project Type: Music Makers

Project Description

Rhianna and Peyton decoded to work together to create music. They created five music clips in Chrome Music Lab.

Student Comment

My name is Peyton Wohlers. I am a fifth grader at Fortuna Middle School. I did  Music Maker, and it was fun. I worked on it with another student, Rhianna Cornwell.

Coordinator Comment

Peyton and Rhianna had fun creating music in Chrome Music Labs.

The Greek Parthenon

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

Mason created a replica of the Greek Parthenon. He used recycled materials such as cardboard and corks.

Student Comment

I was working with a group on the Music Maker but decided to work individually on the Sand of Time. I chose to replicate the Parthenon.

Coordinator Comment

Mason changed his mind about his project half way through the trimester. He did a lot of research on the Parthenon, but did not quite get his model finished.

Sands of Time: Vietnam War

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 6
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

Karter created a model of a battle during the Vietnam War.

Student Comment

I chose to do my “Sands of Time” project of the Vietnam War because it interests me. I made my model base out of floral foam, which is easy to cut into and work with. I added fake grass and toothpicks to create punji sticks. After adding fake grass and frogs, I topped it off with army men. On the army men’s guns I added cotton to create the illusion of gunsmoke. The last piece of the model was taking a block of foam, and carving it out to create a “tunnel rat” model.

Coordinator Comment

Karter used recycled materials to create a model on a battle scene during the Vietnam war.

The Grand Time Capsule of 2022

• School: Blue Lake
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Be a Time Traveler

Project Description

Sebastian made a time capsule of his life in 2022.

Humboldt County Mini Museum

• School: Fortuna Middle
• Grade: 7
• Project Type: Mini Museum

Project Description

Meztli and Jacky created a mini museum of flora and fauna found around Humboldt County.

Student Comment

Meztli: The process of creating it was very interesting. We also wanted to learn more about the area. It has been my 4th year living here and I have never really gone outside. However in the process of making this I went to many places to get inspiration and I have never seen so many things.

Jacky: We decided to make the theme Humboldt because we live in the area and wanted to learn more about this place.

Coordinator Comment

Meztli and Jacky used recycled materials to create their museum. They also used clay to create the animals and plants. They worked hard to match the color of their museum with the color on their slide presentation.

The Canonsburgh Village

• School: Alice Birney Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Student Comment

My project is about the Canonsburgh Village located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The village includes a Gristmill, to a Blacksmith, to a schoolhouse and is a very nice place to take walks, research, and learn as I did during my visit there! I hope you enjoy this project and the recreation of my one-room schoolhouse inspired by my trip to the Canonsburgh Village.

Coordinator Comment

I’m very proud of Ne’Kosha! She did a great job and I like the video of the one room schoolhouse in Minecraft.

Pyramid of Khufu

• School: Alice Birney Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Sands of Time

Project Description

Gael made a scaled replica of the Pyramid of Khufu in Minecraft.

Coordinator Comment

Gael did a great job. He really pushed through and committed to completing the project. I like that he built the Khufu pyramid in Minecraft. Way to go!

The Monterey Bay Aquarium

• School: Arcata Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Virtual Tour

Project Description

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is my favorite place in the world. It’s a huge place where you can look at lots of different kinds of animals that live in water. Check it out!

B & C Botanicals

• School: Monument Middle School
• Grade: 6
• Project Type: Create a Garden

Project Description

B & C Botanicals is a vegetable and floral garden. We chose to grow tomatoes in the garden because they can grow well in Humboldt County with the correct living situation. We wanted part of the garden to be vegetables, like the tomatoes and cucumbers, and part of it to be flowers. Our garden has hydrangeas, sunflowers, and daisies because they look good in our garden and they grow well with our Humboldt County weather. We put succulents in our garden because they live locally, look good, and look realistic. They live for a long time without dying or rotting. They are low maintenance too. We decided to do a pattern between the flowers and vegetables to make it look nice.

The materials used to build our garden were fake grass and flowers. We made the vegetables out of clay. The bushes were made out of fake moss with flowers added to them. We surrounded the garden with a white picket fence.

BreakoutEDU Game: Broken Machinery

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: Unlock Your Own Adventure

Project Description

Iris has created an online game with BreakoutEDU. Santa and his elves are in big trouble. There machines are broken and it’s only 5 days till Christmas! Can you help them fix there machinery in time?

Click the button below to play the game. Find signup instructions here. If you get stuck, the answer key is here. No cheating! 🙂

BreakoutEDU Game: Kitchen Trouble

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Unlock Your Own Adventure

Project Description

Jack has created an online game with BreakoutEDU. Click the button below to play the game. Find signup instructions here. If you get stuck, the answer key is here. No cheating! 🙂

How I Overcame My Fear

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 4
• Project Type: GATE Kids Got Talent

Project Description

Maya created a short video presentation about overcoming her fears when playing Minecraft.

Pondy: A Metaphorical Story

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 6
• Project Type: GATE Kids Got Talent

Project Description

Pondy is a metaphorical story revolved of a lonely frog, stuck in his own small pond. Within this magnificent story of a single low life creature, beaming towards his next future. Listen in to this small but large moraled story, for a cleansing of how the small things matter in life. Truly, the bases and things humanity takes for granted, is what truly makes our life as fantastic and magical, but shall never be fully accounted for. Nonetheless, a newborn baby – or a frog, finds everything perfect and divine. Join us across this small adventure, starting with a small blind frog; who sees better than anyone else, even without vision.

Flight of the Dragon

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 6
• Project Type: GATE Kids Got Talent

Project Description

This is a story of a dwarf named Bäerst whose goats get stolen by a dragon. He climbs up the mountain and kills the dragon, and returns home victorious.

Choishi-michi Pilgrimage and Shukubo Temple Stay

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 6
• Project Type: Virtual Tour

Project Description

A virtual Choishi-michi Pilgrimage and Shukubo Temple Stay

Pyramids of Egypt

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Virtual Tour

Project Description

A slideshow about the fascinating pyramids.

A Place to Visit: Ireland

• School: Cutten Elementary
• Grade: 5
• Project Type: Virtual Tour

Project Description

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to see a castle? Maybe you really like tasting different foods? On my slideshow, I can explain that Ireland is the best place to visit to satisfy these needs. From the beautiful scenery to the astounding history, I believe that Ireland is a great place to visit for a vacation.