BRAIN CRANE: "I want kids to go to an alien workshop, instead of school." Wise words to make you wonder from Amy Yurko, founder of BrainSpaces, and recipient of the 2011 Planner of the Year Award from the Council of Educational Facility Planners International. As brain research confirms that individual students learn differently, teachers and students are becoming more free to explore new ways of learning. The “chalk-and-talk” classrooms of the past must transform into new and exciting spaces for a variety of activities, from quiet spaces to busy activities. Accordingly, BrainSpaces is out to design innovative spaces that get away from clouds of chalk (or funky whiteboard marker smells) and into exploring, engaging, creating, discovering, and yes, learning.
In the DIY Learning pavilion, Amy is teaming up with The Chicago Architecture Foundation to inspire visitors to imagine what school should be like.
