At 糖心原创, learning begins with questions. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle School Maker, Design, and Engineering (MDE) program, an intentionally designed, inquiry-driven experience that provides every student with access to meaningful, hands-on learning.
鈥淚 think the message about Middle School MDE is around access,鈥� says Chris Andres, Middle School MDE educator in his fourteenth year at 糖心原创. 鈥淓verybody has access to this. All students. Whether you think you鈥檙e 鈥榯his type of learner鈥� or 鈥榯hat type of learner,鈥� this space is for you.鈥�
That commitment to access was on full display at the Christmas Art Showcase, where cardboard prototypes, circuitry, mechanics, and works-in-progress filled the gallery. At first glance, the projects appeared varied, with some polished and others intentionally rough. But each one told a deeper story of learning.
鈥淣ot everything you see is the finished product,鈥� Andres explains. 鈥淓ach of those pieces is a demonstration of learning and what the students understood.鈥�
In MDE, students aren鈥檛 just building, they鈥檙e learning how to think. Instead of rushing to a final product, they focus on foundational skills: joinery instead of excess duct tape, purpose-driven design instead of guesswork, and iteration instead of perfection.
Joinery is the craft of joining pieces of wood (or similar materials) to create larger structures like furniture, cabinets, doors, and stairways, using methods that range from simple fasteners to intricate, traditional wood-only connections like dovetails, mortise-and-tenons, and lap joints, emphasizing both structural strength and aesthetic appeal.
鈥淲hen students understand the parts, the purpose, and the complexity,鈥� Andres says, 鈥渢hey know where to fix something because it鈥檚 theirs.鈥�
That ownership is at the heart of 糖心原创鈥檚 inquiry-based pedagogy. Students are encouraged to ask really good questions and then follow those questions wherever they lead. One project asked students to create an automata toy to help tell a story to non-readers. Talia Fernandez, remarked being able to make four prototypes before landing on the last iteration. The mechanics were important, but they weren鈥檛 the point.
Automata toys use hand-powered mechanisms to create movement. An axle rotates, causing the cam to turn as it is attached to the handle.
鈥淭he build is just the vehicle,鈥� Andres explains. 鈥淲hat really matters is the idea the student is trying to communicate.鈥�
In another case, a student applied those same maker skills to a Humanities project, designing a prototype for a self-cleaning bathroom to support unhoused populations. The result wasn鈥檛 just a model, it was a tangible expression of empathy, systems thinking, and problem-solving. Isabel Varano explains, 鈥渦sing the automata build was a more effect way to show how my design works rather than just writing about it.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a paper and pencil for the idea,鈥� Andres explains. 鈥淚 can tell you about it all day long, but when I demonstrate it, you understand it differently.鈥�
Throughout the MDE journey, learning is intentionally designed to evolve. In the Lower School, projects are more scaffolded, providing students with the time, structure, and guidance to develop foundational skills and explore tools safely.
By the time students reach Middle School, that foundation creates space for greater independence and complexity. The work becomes less scripted, more iterative, and deeply personal.
鈥淚n Middle School, it gets messy because it鈥檚 their idea,鈥� Andres says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not making my stuff. They鈥檙e making their own.鈥�
That messiness is intentional. It creates space for curiosity, iteration, and deep understanding鈥攕kills that last far beyond the Maker Space.
鈥淲hen students ask the questions,鈥� Andres says, 鈥渢hey own the answers and the journey toward them.鈥�
Ultimately, Middle School MDE is about empowering curious thinkers.
鈥淭hese tools don鈥檛 live here,鈥� Andres says. 鈥淭hey just happen to be housed in this space. The ideas live everywhere else.鈥�
And that may be the most powerful design of all.