Staircase Project by the Travellers, Kindy 2

A walk around the campus led to the idea for a Staircase Project. The project was derived from the children's concerns that one of the staircases in the school seemed to be unused and neglected. The children were excited with the prospect of sprucing up the staircase and ideas emerged on the different ways in which they could make the staircase more beautiful and attractive and thus encouraged its use.

In this project, the children's interests and attention focused on two main areas; safety, and the visibility and aesthetics of the staircase.

Safety of the Staircase

In exploring the safe use of the staircase, a group of children were involved in investigating how adults and children use it. Their inquiry led to the idea of putting arrows and posters on the staircase to reinforce the correct use of the staircase. The investigation further extended to testing the use of the staircase after the arrows and posters were put up. The children's findings showed improvements in the number of people who used the staircase correctly after the arrows and posters were put up.

Visibility and Aesthetics of the Staircase

A second group of children empathised with the state of the staircases and wanted to beautify them so that people would pay more attention. The children brainstormed and many ideas emerged on how these staircases could be spruced up.

The project actively involved children in painting, hanging decorations, weaving ribbons and fixing a long tube light along the staircases.