We are excited to announce that Mattie Lively Elementary, the third school in the curriculum in the corridors project, is nearing completion. This project takes areas of the school and enhances them to facilite further learning.

Imagine walking your child through a wild safari, the depths of outer space, or around an open archeology dig to get to their first day of school. Picture children sitting in Africa sharing their lunch with kids in Europe. How about knowing your child is visiting a science museum in the safety and security of their own school? With the expertise of Waterjet Works! Educators in Bulloch County, Georgia are setting a new standard in school design and raising the bar by creating an every-day interactive learning environment for their students. Colorful walkways and engaging displays of curriculum will greet the children of Julia P. Bryant Elementary and Sallie Zetterower Elementary each school day.

Dr. Lewis Holloway, the superintendent of Bulloch County and James W. Buckley & Associates collaborated with us here at Waterjet Works to create tactile, interactive designs that enrich learning in a playful environment for students.

Master Teacher Mary Jones, an 8th grade math teacher for Bulloch County, first had the idea to put curriculum in the floors. Jones saw the large multipurpose area of her school as a blank slate to add interactive learning to the student’s environment. The students reacted very positively to this immersive teaching method, which inspired Superintendent Holloway to opt for a more permanent installment than tape or paint. Waterjet technology allowed the learning aids to be cut into the flooring material and installed. From this, the process grew to involve a variety of curriculum added to the corridors of Julia P. Bryant Elementary and Sallie Zetterower Elementary, two of the new school buildings the district has constructed.

“We wanted Julia P. Bryant School to be like a science museum to stimulate students’ interest in science and learning,” Superintendent Holloway explains.

 

Each corridor presents a different theme and acts as a way to bring the field trip to the students. Waterjet Works collaborated with The Buckley Design Team interior designers and architects throughout the design phase to bring the superintendent’s vision to life.

Julia P. Bryant’s mascot is the Bear Nation, so Waterjet Works provided bear paw prints cut into Armstrong VCT. “Hello and good bye” is in the entryway in four languages. The solar system is set into the floor of the first corridor with the names of each planet and their distance from the sun worked into the astronomy design. The second corridor has an oceanography theme, with sand dollars, sea shells, coral and star fish. The third corridor focuses on zoology and is made to look like a jungle safari with tracks of elephants, giraffes, crocodiles and elands. The bones of a T-rex make up an archeological dig in the floor of the fourth corridor. Finally, there is a colorful 250 square foot world map set into the floor of the cafeteria.

Learning boards, window art, patron artifact donations and other visuals were added to the décor to compliment the creative flooring designs and bring the design to life; turning an ordinary school campus into a science museum. The same concept was carried over to Sallie Zetterower Elementary with a new set of curriculum, including a US map on the cafeteria floor.

With this approach children can visit nearby schools for a whole new museum experience versus a three hour trip to Atlanta.

With waterjet technology and the designer’s creativity the possibilities were endless. At Waterjet Works, we use computer-driven waterjet cutting machinery to create custom horizontal and vertical applications. We specialize in cutting contemporary designs and logos for resilient flooring, stone and metal while working closely with architectural, design, and contracting communities to push the boundaries of design standards. Our website served as a benchmark for many of the Julia P. Bryant and Sallie Zetterower installations, enabling the design team to be more efficient with their time and budget. In-house assembly prior to shipping and installation also helped make things run smoother for the general contractors and flooring contractors involved in such a complex development.

“As a former elementary school educator, I am proud that Waterjet Works can be innovators in setting both education and design standards for our nation’s youth,” said Philip Einsohn, President of Waterjet Works. “This technology proves how easily schools can fully integrate learning environments and champion school pride in a resilient and cost effective way.”

 

This project will provide students with the opportunity to achieve a worldly perspective, develop a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning. Julia P. Bryant Elementary and Sallie Zetterower Elementary have been completed and are currently receiving students. The upcoming school, Mattie Lively Elementary will have a different set of curriculum and is expected to be finished by the end of the year

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