HOB students design amusement parks

Although the end of the school year was nearing, teachers Kara Hoffman and Dr. Heather Marvin, and their third-grade class at H.O. Brittingham, were working hard on a unique project for social studies.

Students created original designs for an amusement park, based on various concepts and understandings. Those concepts included determining a location for their park, identifying traffic issues, finding out the area population, researching how to fund building the park and what overhead costs would be, and learned about safety and inspections requirements.

“Our students had one-of-a-kind designs for their amusement parks,” said Hoffman. “I was very impressed with their creativity and their problem-solving ability when it came to the project.”

Once the project was complete, students enjoyed a visit from special guest and local business owner Richard Garrahan, a co-owner of Crooked Hammock. Garrahan shared his experience in designing a kid-friendly restaurant in the area, and how he experienced many of the same challenges as the students faced with their projects.

Students also received about 25 tickets each from Funland, a family-owned and -operated amusement park on Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk.

“We are so grateful that Funland provided such a generous gift for our students to enjoy a real-life experience at an amusement park this summer with their families,” said Hoffman. “We are also honored that Mr. Garrahan took time out of his busy schedule to stop by and explain how a social studies project like this relates to the processes he went through when designing and building the Crooked Hammock.”