"Box City" builds learning opportunities for Lomie Heard Published Dec. 14, 2009 By Ron Gibson Nellis and Creech AFB School Liaison Officer NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Under the guidance of local planners from Clark County and the city of North Las Vegas, architects, and even a few Nellis active-duty and civilian members, students at Lomie Heard Elementary School spent the last six weeks learning what it takes to build a city - which contrary to the popular Jefferson Starship tune takes a little more than 'rock 'n' roll.' In fact, the Box City initiative used by four classes of Lomie Heard third graders Dec. 10 required only a few simple classroom items: two-inch Styrofoam cubes, construction paper, scissors, a few markers, and some basic knowledge of urban planning and design. Students used those items to build makeshift houses, libraries, schools, businesses, and all the other buildings typically found in a city. "After we teach them the basics of building a city, we turn them loose to build one of their own, using the structures they built in the classroom," explained Clark County Principal Planner Gene Pasinski, who started taking the Box City program to local schools in 1993. Since then, Pasinski has taken the initiative to at least 30 Clark County School District schools at least twice each year, barring 2008 when Pasinski was tapped to make presentations at Box City's national conference. "Originally, Box City was meant for 'at-risk' schools throughout CCSD, but we've since expanded it to schools like Lomie Heard and others who have expressed an interest in teaching their students about urban design and planning," Pasinski said. "This is a two-year project for the schools we visit, using a flagship curriculum that works collaboratively with CCSD curriculum." Pasinski said first-year Box City schools, such as Lomie Heard, use the initial year to get students and teachers accustomed to the program with the hope of building upon it the next year. According to Nellis Public Partnerships Deputy Director Capt. J. Ryan Price, the six-week Box City project was spawned from a nationwide project of the same name created to prompt students to think about community planning, development, and design. "It teaches children that cities aren't just thrown together haphazardly," said Price. "When they've finished their respective cities, hopefully they've learned how to integrate residential and commercial units in a comprehensive way that will give them a better understanding of what it takes to build a satisfying community for everyone." The understanding doesn't end with mere construction, however. Each class, designated as a city with names like Candy Town, selects a planning commission to make final decisions about the design of their city. Students present their projects to the commission and mayor for the final decision. Vice Commander of the 99 Air Base Wing, Col. Steven P. Winklmann, served as mayor for one of those cities Dec. 10, and according to him, Box City is a worthwhile project for students to learn sooner rather than later. "Unfortunately, community planning is a topic many of us don't get the opportunity to learn until much later in our academic careers, if we're exposed to it at all," Winklmann said. "I think this is useful knowledge that will stay with these students for the rest of their lives, making them better citizens better equipped to participate in our democracy." One of the local architects, Lendall Mains, who facilitated teaching urban design during Lomie Heard's Box City, can speak to Winklmann's hope firsthand. Mains ran into one of the first students he ever met through the Box City project while shopping at a local retail store. "I remembered him as quite an artistic student who drew wonderful Disney characters - mostly while I was teaching the class," Mains said. "It took me by complete surprised when he told me he was going to college to study architecture. If there's any testament to the power of Box City, I guess that might be it."
