Buzz
When it comes to education, engagement is key. While the traditional chalkboard and lecture format remains a classic, students often thrive in classrooms that push beyond the conventional. In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Day, let’s explore 10 classrooms with unique themes, decor, and ideas that make learning an adventure.
1. THE SURGERY ROOM
Barbara Smith
It’s rare to find a buzzing bone saw in an eighth-grade classroom, but thanks to the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Houston, Alaska, students at Houston Middle School had the chance to wear scrubs and watch surgeries in a mock operating theater. One station focused on intubation, another demonstrated how bone fractures are treated, and a third offered practice with IV insertions. Students even sawed bones and inserted screws to fix them. To understand the fragility of a tibia, they drilled into an eggshell. When the gruesome lesson ended, the kids kept the bones and gowns.
2. KINDERGARTEN AIRPLANE
CrackTwo
We’ve all seen planes turned into restaurants or homes. But a kindergarten classroom? Gari Chapidze, the principal of a school in Georgia, acquired an unused Yakolev 42 aircraft and transformed it into a preschool activity center. Kids can press buttons, gaze out of the cockpit, and have about a thousand times more fun than they would in any standard classroom. Originally hosting 20 children, the air-school quickly had a waiting list of kids eager to board.
3. THE KANYE
TeamKanyeDaily
After seeing Kanye West perform at a televised award show one summer, fourth-grade teacher Adrian Perez was inspired to give his classroom a Kanye-inspired makeover. Using song titles from West's albums, Perez turned his Mendota, Calif. classroom into a tribute to the artist. For example, “New God Flow” became “New Job Flow,” where students could view their assigned tasks. He even put the bear from Graduation on his classroom door. The only issue? The students were too young to recognize Yeezy's influence. "The kids didn’t get it," he said to ABC News. “They just thought I liked red and bears.”
4. MARIO
ListenUpHearThis
Students at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, are accustomed to onlookers: The school is designed as a demonstration hub, with teachers visiting from across the country to learn how to better engage their students. In one of the many uniquely decorated classrooms, lessons take place in a video game-themed space. Mario blocks are mounted on the walls, and students can even punch them to get candy from inside.
5. THE WILD WEST
Kinderworld
Jamie Knudson’s kindergarten class in San Diego, California, takes students on a journey back in time with her Western-themed classroom. Knudson purchased the child-sized covered wagon (pictured above) for $300 at a yard sale years ago, and it’s now a cozy reading nook. The ‘bonfire’ made by a student from a fellow teacher is the heart of their daily campfire gatherings. Additionally, Knudson has included burlap, hay, and other Western props. And unless she’s overdone it, the kids can still enjoy indoor plumbing.
6. THE ART ROOM DOORWAY
Cassie Stephens
If your art teacher isn’t willing to get creative with her classroom, there’s little hope for anyone. Cassie Stevens transformed the outside of her Nashville, Tennessee, elementary art room into a Van Gogh-inspired mural using bulletin board paper and charcoal. To make it feel like a café, she added a business sign and an awning to her door. (The only catch: not all schools may be on board with excessive paper due to fire safety regulations.)
7. LEARNING IN 4D
4D Creative
The UK-based 4D Creative Group has been hired by several primary schools in England to design immersive, '4D' educational spaces for various subjects. At Hebden Green in Winsford, for example, 4D built a full-wall projection screen and a motion-sensitive floor. Teachers can upload software-based curriculums, and students can respond to sensory cues that enhance their understanding of subjects like world history, literature, and more.
8. HULK SMASH. (AND TEACH.)
ListenUpHearThis
You may remember that we have a soft spot for the Ron Clark Academy and its creatively designed classrooms. Kim Bearden, co-founder and language arts teacher, greets her students with a giant Hulk fist smashing through the floor. No surprise she was named Cobb County, Georgia's Teacher of the Year.
9. STAR TREK
TrekMovie
Students entering seventh grade at Dacula Middle School in Dacula, Georgia, should forget about making fun of William Shatner. Teachers Celisa Edwards and Jayne Dawson suit up in Starfleet uniforms and use Star Trek-themed lesson plans to engage their pupils in the “Starfleet Institute of the Sciences” class. The teachers are addressed as “Commanders,” while students are referred to by their last names. Written tests sometimes feature examples drawn from Trek lore. These two have been at it since 1994, and their efforts have led to improved test scores.
10. THE CAVES
World Architecture News
The METI school, located north of Bangladesh, focused on sustainability when designing an educational space for impoverished communities. The first floor is constructed from bamboo, while the ground level features classrooms connected by cave-like portals, offering students the option to study individually or collaborate in groups.
This piece originally ran in 2015.
