UNI Tiny House Project
Community Engagement
Schools should not be separated from the communities they serve, and STEM education can be effectivly approached through engaging service projects. Homelessness impacts over 600,000 in the United States alone. Community and faith-based organizations have built tiny houses to address this problem in Madison, Nashville, Portland, Boise, and Austin. The UNI tiny house will be built with donated materials and funds with the intention of being donated to a local organization adressing homelessness. Please consider supporting this project.
Purpose
Sustainibility
Sustainable living, design, and practices are critical concepts for students, yet they are underrepresented in all levels of education. Tiny houses and similiar projects are effective examples of looking at a variety of sustainible practices. While most people will not live in a 200 sq. ft. tiny home, learning to effectivly utize space, reduce energy consumption, and assess materials and technologies are critical.
Integrative STEM Education
Integrative STEM education includes the intentional integration of math and science concepts into technological and engineering projects. Most often, this is found in engineering design projects. Tiny houses provide an example of integrative STEM education with effective and rich applications of geometry, mathematical modeling, projections and graphical representations, chemistry and material properties, physics, climate science, engineering and architectural design, engineering graphics, construction and energy technologies, and engineering analysis found in the design and construction of a tiny house.
