The Noblesville Planning Department hosted its Box City program April 16 and 17 at Our Lady of Grace Catholic School to introduce students to local government processes, urban planning and development, and being civically engaged.
Our Lady of Grace Catholic School students determine the master layout of a city and were responsible for constructing their own buildings by using the same standards and methods required in the City of Noblesville as part of the Box City program. (Photo provided)
“We are pleased to partner with Our Lady of Grace Catholic School and bring them Box City for the first time. It’s a fun way for the city’s planning department to teach kids about the various procedures required to successfully design, build and expand a city,” said Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear. “The program also provides students a look at how government works and how various departments like planning, engineering, utilities and public safety work together.”
Third and fourth grade students worked with the city’s planning department and other staff members to construct “buildings” out of boxes and then design and construct a city from those buildings. Hamilton County Historian David Heighway provided a history lesson about Noblesville and how and why settlement of cities happened along waterways. Students also learned about the steps that are necessary to construct buildings and homes in real life, such as permit requirements, zoning issues and architecture and design procedures. Students were responsible for constructing their own buildings by using the same standards and methods required in the City of Noblesville. They also determined the master layout of the city by using scale to divide larger tracts of land into individual lots.
Noblesville Building Inspectors Darren Carpenter and Gary Swaim, front, talk with Our Lady of Grace Catholic School students about their buildings before granting them certificates of occupancy as part of the Box City project. (Photo provided)
“Box City provides students the opportunity to participate in an authentic, educational experience that is hands-on and engaging,” Noblesville Planning Director Sarah Reed said. “It also fosters comradery and teamwork amongst the various city departments that participate in the event.”
Noblesville previously conducted Box City programs at Promise Road Elementary School as a tie-in to its project-based learning curriculum. For more information about Noblesville’s Box City project, contact the planning department at (317) 776-6325.