The Foundation for a Meaningful Life
Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA

Innovation Saturdays at Fay School

Join us for an Innovation Saturday on January 21!

Our hands-on workshops, designed for children ages 6-12, are a great way to learn more about engineering, creativity, and design. All workshops are taught by Fay faculty on the Fay School campus in Southborough. These courses are free, but advance registration is required and space is limited.

Curious about Fay's Creativity and Design Program? Learn more>>

Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

List of 4 items.

  • The Humpty Dumpty Challenge

    Your mission: Protect Humpty Dumpty after he has a great fall! After reading Dan Santat’s picture book After the Fall, students will use recycled materials to create a parachute that will protect Humpty Dumpty so that he doesn't crack when he falls. Bring your creativity and excitement as we build, test, and rebuild our parachutes to protect our egg-cellent pal!
     
    Instructor: Taylor MacPherson, Kindergarten teacher
    Date: Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    For ages 6-9
    Limited to 10 students


  • Seed Engineering Challenge

    Learn about the life cycle of a seed and how its adaptations help it survive! After reading The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony, students will design their own seeds to suit various environmental factors, including wind, water, and frost.
     
    Instructor: Willa Gustavson, second grade teacher
    Date: Saturday, January 21 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    For ages 6-9
    Limited to 10 students


  • Power Up Creations with Circuitry

    In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn the basics of maker electronics as you handle and connect basic electronic components to make simple circuits, including lights, motors, and buzzers. You’ll build circuits using a variety of conductive materials and incorporate a light-up circuit into a 3D-model for take-home awesomeness!  
     
    Instructor: Kim Fogarty, Chair of Fay's Creativity and Design Department
    Date: Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    For ages 9-12
    Limited to 10 students


  • Introduction to Coding – Create Animations and Games

    Learn the fundamentals of coding and how to create your own animations and games in this introduction to Processing, a free and flexible software sketchbook and coding language. We’ll also be working with LEGO SPIKE Prime sets to help students understand how to create a structured sequence of programming activities in a real-world context.
     
    Instructor: Xioahu Zhao, Physical Science teacher
    Date: Saturday, January 21, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
    For ages 9-12
    Limited to 10 students


Parking and Details

All participants will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination when checking in. Masks are optional for all participants.

All parents should park in Harlow Circle, which can be accessed via Fay School's East Entrance. Click here for directions to the East Entrance, located at 23 Middle Road in Southborough, MA. If you use Apple Maps, please note that this address will take you to an incorrect location that is on the other side of the Sudbury Reservoir. If using GPS navigation, we suggest that you use Google Maps. 

Check-in will take place at Fay's Center for Creativity and Design. Signs will be placed in Harlow Circle to direct you to the check-in area. Please arrive 15 minutes before the workshop's scheduled start time.

After check-in, the workshop instructors will take children and their parents to the classroom where the workshop will take place. Parents will then be dismissed, but will return to the classroom at the conclusion of the workshop to pick their child up.
Meet Our Faculty
Taylor MacPherson teaches in Fay's Kindergarten. She holds a B.S. in Psychology from Northeastern University and is studying for her master’s degree in Elementary Education. She has also worked as a Fay After School Associate and FaySummer Camp Counselor for several years, and she currently serves as a dorm parents for our boarding students in grades 7-9. Taylor has also worked as a volunteer in a number of organizations including Peace Through Play, while also observing in various classrooms in and around the Boston area. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and photography. 
Willa Gustavson is a second grade teacher and joined Fay in 2022 from Rectory School in Pomfret, Connecticut, where she has been a grade 2-3 teacher since 2018. She has been a member of the FaySummer camp staff since 2013 and has been a unit leader for the past two summers. Willa holds a B.A in English with a concentration in English and French literature from Stanford University and a M.S. in elementary education with a concentration in elementary teaching from Northwestern University.
Kim Fogarty is the Chair of Fay's Creativity and Design Department; she teaches Creators Class to grades 7 and 8 and the ninth grade elective Advanced 3D Design. Kim holds a B.S. in communications from the University of Washington, a M.Ed. from Lesley College, and a Graduate Certificate in engineering education from the Tufts University Teacher Engineering Education Program. She has more than 25 years of teaching experience and has worked in Boston-area schools as a curriculum coordinator, academic technology advocate, and maker space educator.
Xiaohu Zhao holds bachelor's and master's degrees in science from the University of Michigan. He teaches eighth grade Physical Science at Fay, and he has also worked in Fay's English Immersion program. His favorite aspect of teaching at Fay is the opportunity to help students learn and love science and math. He believes learning science and math is more than memorizing formulas on the whiteboard - instead, he enjoys helping students explore and understand how physical science and math work through creative problem-solving. During his free time, Xiaohu loves to travel with his wife, who is also a teacher at Fay.
 
 

Registration Information

Once you complete the registration below, we will contact you with more information and to let you know if your registration was accepted. There is limited space in each workshop, and spots are being filled on a first come, first serve basis. If you would like to register multiple children, please fill this form out separately for each individual.

All participants will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend this event.

Registration is Closed

48 MAIN STREET
SOUTHBOROUGH, MA 01772
main number 508-490-8250
admission 508-490-8201