Morning

Tuesday mornings in CP4 are spent applying the scientific method through a long-term, hands-on project. As with all project-based learning at Cupola, youth draw on a wide range of skills and engage across multiple disciplines essential to completing their work successfully.

Each year’s project is selected based on the interests and strengths of the group. Last year, CP4 expanded a small-scale recycling initiative originally launched by CYP youth. They studied material science by shredding type-2 plastics, melting them down, and reforming them using extrusion machines they helped assemble and maintain—ultimately creating new, usable products.

For 2025–26, CP4 is transforming an old, unused pool into a thriving pond ecosystem. This work integrates math, science, and environmental studies. Youth calculated the pool’s volume by inscribing its irregular shape within a regular rectangle and determining how long drainage would take. Using field guides and dichotomous keys, they identified wildlife already inhabiting the space and measured pH and dissolved oxygen levels with water-testing kits, sparking meaningful conversations about data sets, outliers, and human error.

Much of this project takes place outdoors—cleaning the pool area, shoveling decomposed leaves, and carefully preserving existing aquatic life. Each session reinforces collaboration, responsibility, efficiency, and accuracy as youth work toward a shared goal: transforming their environment through science, creativity, and teamwork.