“This week we teamed up with Meili Construction to host a group of local teachers and educators at the PIVOT office as part of the “Oh, the Places You Can Go: Industry for Educators” series, hosted by Mary Leighton, PhD.

This 3-month series is designed to inform educators of different career paths available to their students, and provide them with a deeper understanding of our local economy. Our presentation gave insight into the AEC Industry and the role PIVOT and Meili play in the community, including our work with industry and community connected learning.   Other industries these educators will learn about include healthcare, transportation, marketing, and more. 

Working with educators is one of the most rewarding aspects of the work we do here at PIVOT. We were honored to participate in this series and help these educators make connections between their role in public education and local industries.

As we designed the Camas Ridge Community School, we brainstormed how we could give students a hands-on experience of building the school.

When we landed on the idea of creating a LEGO model of Camas, we weren’t sure how to go about actually doing that so we turned to some of our innovative partners.

PIVOT commissioned a small team of local students and project managers at Connected Lane County—a non-profit that prepares youth for the future by providing hands-on experiences, career-connected learning, and support services—to design the initial model.

Using software that allows you to design sets with virtually any LEGO piece ever made, the students figured out how to use the software and design the initial model. Then we passed it on to local LEGO experts at Bricks and Minifigs to streamline the design and order the 3,500 pieces it takes to build the model.

Over the summer, we fine-tuned the instructions and did a test build of the model to make sure it actually works. The finished model is more than 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 1 foot tall.

We take a lot of pride in Camas Ridge Community School and hope the experience of building the LEGO set will give students an idea of some of the things that go into designing a facility like this school—and maybe inspire some future architects!

The Lego model will be on display at the Camas Ridge Open House on Thursday, October 24 from 6-7:30 p.m.