4th Graders present solutions to Cornell at capstone event

This year, Friends Academy partnered with the Cornell Lab to engage in a design-thinking challenge with our Lower School Entrepreneurship students.

The challenge they offered our students is a real-world problem that Cornell scientists, software developers, and project leads are working on themselves: How to redesign their world-renowned Merlin Bird ID app to make it more "kid-friendly."

After many months of fieldwork, research, and prototyping, our 4th-grade class presented their research-based solutions to the Cornell Lab on the morning of Friday, May 24.

Their presentations showcased a wide range of thinking from opportunities to improve literacy and learning outcomes in lower school-aged students to technological innovations with new app functions, greater accessibility, and even a new Cornell Lab drone!

Photography by Alvin Caal/Friends Academy