Year 8 IGNITE

Invisibility School Design Challenge

Invisibility is everywhere.  It’s the people we don’t notice, the environmental changes we can’t see, and the algorithms working behind the scenes, (MOD, 2022). What becomes visible when we start paying attention?  As mentioned in the last newsletter, this was the question posed to all year 8 IGNITE students who last term visited the University of South Australia’s MOD, Museum of Discovery.

The aim of this visit was to launch the Invisibility School Design Challenge which these students worked on as part of their year 8 IGNITE HASS program.  In following lessons students were challenged to use the Design Thinking process to design a concept that would make visible something currently invisible. This problem-solving approach required students to understand their users, redefine problems and create innovative solutions. 

A mailable bee box and website to encourage more bees, a service to support new refugees in SA, an animation to educate high school students about online privacy, a welcome pack for international students at our school, a bag with necessities for homeless people and an app to support those experiencing loneliness were just some of the impressive prototypes created.  Such was the high standard of designs that prototypes from each group were selected by MOD staff to be displayed as part of the Invisibility Exhibition.   These can be viewed in the cabinets in the entrance area of the museum until this exhibition closes at the end of November.

Congratulations to all Year 8 IGNITE students.