Tivoli in Miniature
Local buildings, from solids to a collective model
The workshop runs for twelve hours and for that reason pursues a single disciplinary objective. In primary school, solid geometry is mostly addressed through two-dimensional representations, with the consequence that a pupil may acquire the terminology without recognising a cylinder in a real architectural element. The programme acts on that passage: the solids are first built by hand, it is then verified that buildings are compositions of them, and each pupil finally rebuilds their own building as an object.
- School level
- Lower secondary school · Primary school
- Age
- 8-13 years old
- Structure
- 12 hours · 6 sessions
The programme
Solids in hand
2hIndividual construction of the set of solids, with naming following the building phase.
A building made of solids
2hIdentification of the solids composing a building and verification on a rigid support.
The same solids, on screen
2hReproduction of the solids in the digital environment, with access through prepared codes.
My building, the body
2hModelling of the main body of the chosen building, with assessment of its proportions.
The roof, the openings, the skin
2hIdentification of the roof and creation of the openings through volume subtraction.
The model of Tivoli in miniature
2hConstruction of the model and placement on the common base, with closing presentation.
The outcome
The collective scale model of the buildings identified by the pupils, placed on the common base representing the urban layout, with the display panels of the closing presentation.
For the school
- The digital tool is introduced in the third session, once each pupil already has their own set of solids, the photographic documentation and the list of the elements required.
- Each session is complete in itself and produces its own result, so that pupils who were absent can rejoin without any need to catch up.
- Differentiation is part of the design: the photographic documentation is ordered by number of solids and each pupil determines their own level of complexity. Pupils with fine motor difficulties are given the pieces already cut.
- The institute provides a classroom with desks and a computer lab with browser access for sessions three to five.
Bringing this programme to your school
This page can be shared with the school leadership without sending the whole catalogue. A twenty-minute conversation defines the calendar, the number of sessions and the adjustments the institute’s context requires.