FOSTERING INNOVATION

Lake Forest Country Day School’s Innovation Space offers students hands-on opportunities to learn about innovation and entrepreneurship.

It was Albert Einstein who once said, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but innovation.” While that might have en a bit of an exaggeration, especially for an academic setting, story and the emergence of new technologies have proven nstein was on to something.

At Lake Forest Country Day School in Lake Forest (LFCDS), a private, independent school for children ages 2 through 8th grade, it’s never too early to learn about innovation and how it drives progress. It’s an idea that’s lived at LFCDS for over 135 years and stands to remain a fundamental part of the learning experience for generations to come.

Located in the heart of its campus behind sleek glass walls, LFCDS’s Innovation Space is a hub of activity where students are inspired to come up with groundbreaking ideas and learn how to see their ideas become reality. Every year, the school sponsors and hosts an Innovation Design Challenge where students can develop their own ideas and compete against other young innovators. It’s a hands-on way for students to gain experience in entrepreneurship. Students learn the process of pitching their ideas to an audience, simulating the real-life process of developing a product and taking it to market.

“Two of our core beliefs at LFCDS are that ‘we aim high’ and ‘curiosity is a gift.’ Students working on the Innovation Design Challenge embody both these values,” says Greg McDonough, Director of the Innovation Space at LFCDS. “Students explore a wide array of problems and develop and refine novel solutions. It also affords them the opportunity to take the skills they’ve learned across all of their classes.”

McDonough says the Innovative Design Challenge stretches students in a variety of ways. Students download more advanced software and use new materials, but innovation isn’t contained just to the lab. This year, students have worked in a wood shop and the Greenhouse on their projects. What’s also distinctive about the LFCDS Innovation lab is its open doors for all students.

“Something that makes our Innovation Space unique from other STEM labs or maker spaces is the amount of access our students have to the space,” McDonough says. “Every grade level has multiple interdisciplinary projects where teachers from core subjects push into the Innovation Lab for summative projects. It’s also open every day for students before school and during recess.”

Along with McDonough, two of the driving forces behind the Innovation Design Challenge are Co-chairs Grayson Pruett and James Kean. Both are LFCDS alums and volunteer their time to coordinate the initiative in partnership with McDonough.

“This is our third year of the challenge and each year it’s gotten better and better,” Pruett says. “We wanted to create a program that had enough structure for grades 5 through 8 while allowing enough freedom for pretty amazing innovations. We’ve been able to accomplish that.”

Kean’s role is to help coordinate planning and to encourage more alumni to get involved in the program.

“We ultimately want to make this a powerful, life-changing experience for the students,” Kean says. “The foundation and goal of the programs is for students to push the boundaries of what they think is possible, putting tangible solutions to problems in our community and our planet.”

As part of the challenge, students have recently developed everything from a water faucet electricity generator, which harnesses the energy of household waterflow to produce renewable electricity, to vegetable paper developed from corn husks, offering an alternative to traditional paper while minimizing environmental impact.

Alex Sheridan, Associate Head of School for Advancement at LFCDS, says the Innovation Design Challenge is representative of LFCDS’s vision for education, which was an articulated outcome of the school’s recent strategic plan.

“The Innovation Design Challenge checks every box of the student experience. They’re learning in community, alongside LFCDS students past and present, challenging themselves in authentic and relevant ways,” Sheridan says. “Their curiosity and creativity are nurtured such that they’re developing compassion and confidence. It’s a learning experience that’s as timely as it timeless, and it’s how we prepare students to lead, serve, and shape what comes next.”

Lake Forest Country Day School is located at 145 S Green Bay Road in Lake Forest, lfcds.org.