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Hannibal, MO —
It’s not uncommon at this time of year to find someone making a gingerbread house. But how often do you see such a structure built with swimming pools or American Disabilities Act compliance in mind? That is exactly what was done by 28 Hannibal fifth-graders, who are a part of the Logic Enrichment Academic Pursuit (LEAP) program.
The students’ project, the planning for which started in September, features four structures.
“One is a hotel. That’s what intrigued my interest, the hotel,” said Gail Bryant, director of the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The HCVB’s building at 505 North Third St. will for approximately a week be the temporary home of the display, which also features a train station, restaurant and community center.
“We’re very proud to display the children’s work,” said Bryant, who readily admits she has not seen anything like it. “I’ve seen gingerbread houses. This has taken some time to construct. This is a lot larger than I had anticipated.”
Tracy Murphy, the students’ LEAP teacher, says anyone seeing the gingerbread creations will realize just how unique they are.
“It wasn’t just cute little gum drops and candy canes. They really put a lot of thought into this,” she said. “A lot of the teachers who came through and looked at it said, ‘We didn’t do stuff like this until high school.’ It definitely ended up being greater than I ever imagined. I’m very proud of the kids. It was a great experience for them.”
Students researched different architectural time periods before starting to work. Murphy says her pupils also “studied the art and science of planning, designing and building structures.”
The buildings represent what the students believe would be an enhancement to the city of Hannibal, according to Murphy.
“It was amazing to listen to them plan, work together and really think about it,” she said.
Students gave classroom presentations of their portion of the finished project.
“We invited the parents to come in. They (students) had to present it as if they were selling it to the community,” said Murphy.
An interesting twist to the project was the building materials.
“The last time I taught this unit we built the buildings out of cardboard and painted them, and they looked really good,” said Murphy. “We’re in the life skills room this year so we have an oven in our classroom. I thought, ‘Lets take advantage of the materials in the room and space, and let’s do it out of gingerbread.’”
With a gingerbread village in their midst, has Bryant warned her staff about nibbling?
“Not yet, but it smells wonderful,” she said.
It’s not uncommon at this time of year to find someone making a gingerbread house. But how often do you see such a structure built with swimming pools or American Disabilities Act compliance in mind? That is exactly what was done by 28 Hannibal fifth-graders, who are a part of the Logic Enrichment Academic Pursuit (LEAP) program.
The students’ project, the planning for which started in September, features four structures.
“One is a hotel. That’s what intrigued my interest, the hotel,” said Gail Bryant, director of the Hannibal Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The HCVB’s building at 505 North Third St. will for approximately a week be the temporary home of the display, which also features a train station, restaurant and community center.
“We’re very proud to display the children’s work,” said Bryant, who readily admits she has not seen anything like it. “I’ve seen gingerbread houses. This has taken some time to construct. This is a lot larger than I had anticipated.”
Tracy Murphy, the students’ LEAP teacher, says anyone seeing the gingerbread creations will realize just how unique they are.
“It wasn’t just cute little gum drops and candy canes. They really put a lot of thought into this,” she said. “A lot of the teachers who came through and looked at it said, ‘We didn’t do stuff like this until high school.’ It definitely ended up being greater than I ever imagined. I’m very proud of the kids. It was a great experience for them.”
Students researched different architectural time periods before starting to work. Murphy says her pupils also “studied the art and science of planning, designing and building structures.”
The buildings represent what the students believe would be an enhancement to the city of Hannibal, according to Murphy.
“It was amazing to listen to them plan, work together and really think about it,” she said.
Students gave classroom presentations of their portion of the finished project.
“We invited the parents to come in. They (students) had to present it as if they were selling it to the community,” said Murphy.
An interesting twist to the project was the building materials.
“The last time I taught this unit we built the buildings out of cardboard and painted them, and they looked really good,” said Murphy. “We’re in the life skills room this year so we have an oven in our classroom. I thought, ‘Lets take advantage of the materials in the room and space, and let’s do it out of gingerbread.’”
With a gingerbread village in their midst, has Bryant warned her staff about nibbling?
“Not yet, but it smells wonderful,” she said.
