See It • Build It • Know It
See It • Build It • Know It
Below is the first of our "white papers" on the crucial components of the Salvadori pedagogy, such as "What is Project-Based Learning?", "What Is Built? What is Environment? What Is The Built Environment," and so on. These will help those not familiar with our approach to gain insight into how we work. Others will be added over time.
Below can view some (literally) moving examples of what it means to "do Salvadori." We will start you off with our signature "25 Years and Counting."
"25 Years and Counting" is a quick, delightful trek through the origins of the Center in Dr. Mario Salvadori's desire to help young students build a love and respect for engineering and architecture. In this video you will see Dr. Salvadori at work in his trademark fashion of combining assertiveness with compassion and humor, qualities which drew both young and old to be in his presence.
The three short pieces that follow show Salvadori practicing what it preaches: making the abstract concrete through engaging, spirited, hands-on/minds-on activities.
One Note: These videos run with Quicktime. If you don't have Quicktime, you can download a free version. The link will open a new window.)
25 Years and Counting -- Everything you need to know about how Salvadori works, and how people work with Salvadori. If, after viewing it, you would like to have your own copy, send us your name and mailing address, and we'll get it right out to you, free of charge. In addition, be sure to review our core programs.
One Hundred Cards -- Who can build the strongest tower with 100 cards? Not as easy as you think because this is a test of strength from three vectors: compression, tension, and torque (the hybrid of the two, such as with rapid directional changes of wind). This also shows you how you can make a solid math and science lesson from simple materials.
We Teach The Teachers -- Dr. Salvadori believed that "the entire educational system revolves around one pivot: the teacher," a belief we have advanced through our professional development programs and the hundreds of teachers with whom we collaborated, such as the ones in this video.
Who Was Mario? -- The master in action. What else needs be said? (You can find out more about Dr. Salvadori at his section of the website.)
Our founder, Mario Salvadori, a world-renowned structural engineer, believed that the built environment held all the knowledge that a person needed to be an intelligent and active member of the community. What teachers need to make this knowledge available to their students are tools with which they can "unpack" the knowledge embedded in the built environment.
The Salvadori Center gives these tools to teachers and students through a pedagogy grounded in what it calls "project-based, hands-on/minds-on activities" that employ the principles of architecture, engineering, and the design process. Through this method, teachers and their students can unlock the math, science, art, and humanities embodied in the structures and systems that surround them.