Made possible by a grant from the Greenwich Alliance for Education, the Cos Cob School’s Innovation Lab, built to encourage digital learning, made its debut Monday afternoon at a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
“When we first decided to convert this media center into a learning commons to support our digital learning environment, we played with the idea of creating this innovation space,” Cos Cob School Principal Gene Schmidt said.
“After much research, field trips and many hours of discussion, we really developed a passion for doing this. We knew that this innovation space would fit into the purpose of the Greenwich school district and especially Cos Cob School.”
The new learning commons and innovation space features a Lego wall, tiny electronic parts for building, a 3D printer and many more tools that encourage digital learning.
“Play, passion and purpose is what we really want the kids to get out of this space,” Schmidt said. “We knew if we built it, they would come.”
The innovation center offers a space where failure is not only an option for students, but encouraged as a necessary byproduct of learning and discovering one’s passions.
“In this space we will foster risk taking and no fear of failure,” Schmidt said. “No one should be afraid to fail. In fact, we encourage it because we know that those are the steps necessary to succeed and for innovation.
Schmidt added that the only time a student could truly fail is when he or she stops trying.
Students from kindergarten through fifth grade will be able to create robotics with simple and small parts as well as use computers to create movies with a green screen installed inside the innovation center.
“I like the Lego wall and building,” said fourth grader Alex Servidio. “There’s a lot of Little Bits and lots of models to build.”
Elected officials expressed their hopes that the new innovation center would inspire creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration from the elementary school students and staff.
“21st century learning is something that makes me want to go back to school all over again,”First Selectman Peter Tesei said before cutting the ribbon. “What has been created here will really capture the minds of our young people and allow them to advance.”
State Rep. Fred Camillo added that the innovation center would have made a difference when he was back in Cos Cob School.
“As a graduate of this school, this is really a proud moment,” Camillo said. “If you get kids to think outside of the box, not only will it help them now, but it will pay dividends down the road. If you had this in school when I was here, I wouldn’t have spent so much time out in the hall.”
