Jennifer Cooke, Content Strategy & Communications Manager
For the second year in a row, EBL’s stage has transformed into an immersive map of Cincinnati’s downtown landscape.
Titled “Mini Cincy,” the project is thanks to the campus’s third grade students, whose ingenuity speaks not only to their creativity but to a burgeoning desire to learn more about the places in their own backyard.
Mini Cincy, as Third Grade Teacher Jon Paris notes, is more than a fun opportunity to recreate the Queen City’s crown jewels.
“A few years ago, the Ohio State Teaching Standards changed a bit, and the study of Cincinnati became a new and welcomed unit in our third-grade curriculum,” he says. “Because project-based learning is a vital part of our curriculum and something that our students absolutely love, we thought that a fun way to learn about our city is to create a mini-Cincinnati.”
Working in teams of two or three, students were tasked with researching a Cincinnati landmark. Using materials from the campus’s project-based learning lab, they then designed and constructed miniature versions of those landmarks, reflecting a literal building of knowledge.
Beyond downtown’s physical geography, students expanded their understanding of Cincinnati’s social, political, and cultural milieu, learning about the city’s government, religious shifts, recreational opportunities, transportation, and general history.
The finished display is a colorful celebration of Cincinnati and its most beloved structures. This year’s Mini Cincy includes some of last year’s most popular attractions, like CHCA’s downtown Armleder Campus and Music Hall, alongside impressive versions of the Great American Financial building, Paycor Stadium, Great American Ballpark, and TQL Stadium. The Ohio River flows downstage, adding to the reality of the scene and providing a point of reference for Mini Cincy spectators. “Streets” are wide enough for guests to embark on a walking tour of downtown—without leaving Symmes Township.
“This is only our second year of doing this project, but a good number of students remembered visiting Mini Cincy last year and were really looking forward to working on this project this year,” Mr. Paris says. “One of the things we love hearing is how so many of our third graders have asked their parents to take them to some of these places, locations they have never been to before.”
