The project came out of the OrgelkidsCAN project, which offers students a chance to construct a miniature wooden pipe organ – one of eight in existence throughout Canada – while learning about the science, technology, engineering and math through the various systems that make the instrument function.
“We thought ‘why not tie it in with the STEM curriculum’ because back in history this was one of the most amazing machines of its day,” said Janet Weaver, a Saskatoon-based teacher and organist with the Royal Canadian College of Organists, the sponsor of the Orgelkids program. “It has all the science and physics and engineering all built into it. And they can see how it all works, like ‘oh, I pull this down and the air comes through’ and things like that.”
The heart of the project is the construction of the organ, the process of which can be seen here.. The build took the local students about half an hour and based on what Weaver saw, fulfilled their mission.
“It went really well, it was a small group and they caught on really quickly,” she said. “The conversations are always so delightful, because you here them ‘oh, there’s that number, that goes there, here’s the two little pegs, oh that’s where that goes’. They figure it out and they problem solve together and it’s all pretty neat to see how it comes together.”
Students then played a musical piece with it as part of their spring recital.
The whole project has the additional aspect of introducing youngsters to an instrument that can be something to behold in its full-size form – by example, as large as the pipe organ in Zion United Church is, it’s dwarfed in scope by even medium-sized cathedral organs.
“That’s what’s nice about the educational part of this, where we take it out of the church and bring it to the public,” Weaver said. “Some people might never go into a church, and even if they do, seeing a full pipe organ and trying to figure out how it works can be intimidating.
“So this for more than just music, because this gives a hand-on experience and shows the kids just what it’s like to build something like this and how much work would go into building a real, full-sized one.”
For more on the OrgelkidsCAN program, check out the RCCO site.
