If you thought teaching math by building downtown couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 happen, think again.

Grade 9 students at St. Patrick High School were tasked to create a 1/200-scale model of one square kilometre of downtown Yellowknife. The students were given one of the buildings and place it on a map as part of a project. The idea was part of the newly-implemented B.C school curriculum, a part of which focuses on scale and size.

SA国际影视传媒淲e wanted to make sure that we focus more on hands-on projects and group work, rather than just testing on paper,SA国际影视传媒� said math teacher Chris Wong.

He added that the project is designed to strengthen studentsSA国际影视传媒� problem-solving and communication abilities.

Throughout the project, Wong said he saw students more engaged and motivated compared to last year.

SA国际影视传媒淎t the end, you get to see all the hard work that you have put in, not just getting a letter grade from your teacher,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Close to 60 students are working on the project and since the school has limited space, the crafts wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be a permanent decoration in the school. At the end of the project, students have the choice to take them home.

Student Nicholas Graham built Joint Task Force North (JTFN) using foil paper and foam board. The project took approximately six hours for both drafting and putting the building together.

He said he was inspired by the project and is looking forward to becoming a drafter for the aviation industry.

Mairin Campbell and Leslie Pineda built Mildred Hall School, which took them two and a half weeks.

The blueprint took the most time to complete, but Campbell realized that drafting was easier than what she thought it would be.

SA国际影视传媒淥riginally, we had to find the calculations, the heights of everything, scale it down and draw the top, front, side and back,SA国际影视传媒� said Campbell.

They used Google Maps to help with the dimensions of the building in real life and simply divided it by 200.

Principal Don Reid said it had been a long time since heSA国际影视传媒檚 seen kids actively solving mathematical problems.

SA国际影视传媒淪ome of our kids were so perfect that they went back to the different buildings several times to measure and re-measure, making sure that they had the right measurements,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Reid said the most important part for him wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 if their measurements were off by one or two centimetres, but to see the engagement, and to hear kids talk to their parents about what they had done during the project.

SA国际影视传媒淢ost of the time, kids go home and the parents may ask SA国际影视传媒榳hat did you do today?SA国际影视传媒� (The kids will say) SA国际影视传媒榥othing, nothing, nothing.SA国际影视传媒� And thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what I was saying when I was a kid,SA国际影视传媒� said Reid.

Reid added that the school will try to implement welding, computer numerical control milling, plasma cutters, and 3D printers as part of future projects for students.