A group of now-sixth-grade BCSC students spent part of last school year in their STEM labs re-imagining some of Columbus’ most iconic buildings and are set to unveil prototypes showing their designs.
Elementary students from more than 30 STEM classes at L. Frances Smith, CSA Lincoln, Parkside, Richards, and Southside elementaries participated in a model-making project as fifth-graders that will be one of 13 featured installations part of the Exhibit Columbus 2025 Exhibition, “Yes And.”
Their prototypes will be displayed across eight downtown window fronts from installation launch day on Aug. 16 through Nov. 30 at the Bartholomew County Public Library, Bartholomew County Historical Society, Zen Wellness, Hoosier Sporting Goods, The Columbus Visitors Center, kidscommons, The Commons and Gramz Bakery.
The students are one of two design education teams participating in the exhibition. High-schoolers in the Columbus Area Career Connection (C4) architecture program teamed up with students from the J. Irwin Miller Architecture Program and professor Spencer Steenblik to build an installation at the former Republic building.
Both design education teams and organizers of the STEM model-making project will be honored during Exhibit Columbus’ Next Generation Day on the library plaza on Sept. 6.
This is the second time elementary STEM students have been involved with Exhibit Columbus— the first was 2023’s Public By Design. Back then, students were asked to address: “What are the downtown needs right now?” Some ideas they came up with— a skate park, rock wall, splash pad and a “hot dog train,” which were showcased on a trailer during 2023’s Next Generation Day.This time around, during a period that local leaders and community members are thinking through what the future of downtown will look like through the Columbus Downtown 2030 plan, students were asked: “How could your favorite downtown Columbus building be re-envisioned for the future?”
Students collaborated in teams to answer that question, and in turn modeled and put together prototypes.
The STEM-model project was organized with the help of current and former BCSC District STEM coordinators Allison Meyer and Davida Harden, as well as Ashley Toler, a STEM teacher for the district.
BCSC students from kindergarten through sixth grade attend STEM class once a week for about an hour, reflecting the district’s commitment for Columbus to be the “STEM capital of Indiana.”
Students began work on the project during the last quarter of the 2024-25 school year, just after spring break, Toler said.
“We talked about the idea behind “Yes And” and then how it could relate to some of our businesses and locations in Columbus,” Toler said. “Yes, we have this right now— but what would bring it into the future?”
Students took a look at architectural designs Columbus was famous for, and hopped on Google Maps to get a sense of how buildings they could re-envision relate to downtown locationally before beginning to settle on a building to transform.
“Kids divided up into groups, they made their individual plans, and then we presented those ideas to the class,” Toler said. “We did a gallery walk to check out how different buildings might be re-imagined. And then as a class, they voted on their top choices.”
Students created a prototype with computer-aided design software Tinkercad. From there, one design was chosen for a given class. The workload of building the model was divvied up so everyone had a hand in how it was assembled, Toler said.
Some of the more popular buildings and locations that were re-imagined, according to Meyer, were The Crump, The Commons and Mill Race Park.
“It’s introducing our students as young as fifth grade to the world of architecture,” Harden told attendees gathered during the unveiling of “Yes And” in February. “One of the student’s dreams was: What if an architect actually did fall in love with my design, and could it become possible in Columbus? You’re sparking an interest in them that is life changing.”
Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture