October is National Planning Month and in recognition of that, the Noblesville Planning Department will be hosting a new program called Box City on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8 at Promise Road Elementary. Third and fourth grade students at Promise Road will work with Planning Department staff to construct "buildings" out of boxes and then design and construct cities from those buildings. In order to do this, students will learn about the steps that are necessary to construct buildings and cities in real life such as permit requirements, zoning issues, architecture and design procedures, and more. The third grade students will be responsible for constructing the buildings by using the same standards and methods required in the City of Noblesville while the fourth grade students will then determine the master layout of the city.
Other communities around the country have conducted Box City programs although this is believed to be the first in Indiana. Students from Ball State University's Graduate Program in Urban Planning will be observing and assisting with the Box City program and will then share the ideas and results of Noblesville's program with other communities in Indiana.
"The enthusiasm we received from Noblesville Schools and the Promise Road Elementary administration and staff about Box City was very encouraging. We are excited to help students learn about the many things that go into successfully designing, building, and expanding a city," said Mayor John Ditslear. Planning Director Christy Langley added: "This is a great way to help students learn about the field of planning in an engaging way. Box City is a great tie-in to the project-based learning curriculum that Promise Road Elementary uses."
For more information about Noblesville's Box City project, contact the Planning Department at (317) 776-6325. Media interested in covering the event are asked to contact Sharon Trisler, Noblesville Schools Public Relations Director, at (317) 773-2565 no later than 4:30pm on Friday, October 4th.
