Experiential Learning: North Haven School

Each year, North Haven School, Maine’s smallest public school, sends its students on an experiential learning expedition off-island. This year, students will attend a five day timber framing class at the Shelter Institute and build a timber frame classroom for their campus; providing them with life-skills as well as a new super-insulated space for future generation to use. North Haven’s tradition of blending classroom education with real world experience parallels the Shelter Institute in Woolwich, Maine and the two have teamed up to build a classroom and a program that will provide North Haven Students with marketable skills.

North Haven high school students will spend four days studying Timber Frame construction at Shelter Institute. They will learn engineering, design, joinery layout and cutting as well as tool selection and maintenance. At the end of the week they will return to North Haven with the Shelter Institute staff to assemble and raise the 20x20 structure. The new space will house a woodshop, workshop and a greenhouse providing space for boat-building classes, woodworking classes, and an expanded agricultural program.

North Haven educator John Dietter is thrilled with this year’s student expedition: “This project has so many beautiful, interlinking layers, since the students will help to create the space to support future students’ experiential learning experiences. Shelter Institute was the perfect partner in this project; the spectrum of services they have available is amazing. We told them what we wanted to teach our students through this year’s expedition and they made it happen. Every school student should have this opportunity.”

Shelter Institute was founded on experiential education, our organization’s philosophy is to connect the physics of house building with the practice. It is critical that students today see the Pythagorean Theorem in use so that they want to learn it and know how to apply it. In addition, building one’s own space makes a person appreciative of that space. Our hope is that the student involvement in this project will build on the strength of the community.”

Shelter Institute has taught more than 22,000 people how to design, build and live in energy efficient homes for over 35 years. Graduates have gone on to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, construction and design and they renovate, build or simply live more wisely in their own homes -knowledge is a tremendous asset that liberates them.

In addition to providing updated International Building Code information, some of Shelter Institute’s courses are college credits as general credits at the University of Southern Maine. Online registration and more information are available at http://www.shelterinstitute.com/. Send us an email to learn about designing your own experiential learning program at Shelter institute. info@shelterinstitute.com

Check us out on facebook to see photos of this upcoming week and notes from of the North Haven's students.

Landscaping Book Mania: 20% off Instock Items

Many of you are in the throws of sprucing up your yard. If you are like me, there is always more to be done. We are just beginning to carve out a comfortable living space outside of our home . . . now that the inside is more or less complete. We have a phenomenal collection of landscaping books for a variety of climates and for projects both great and small. Whether you are starting from scratch, looking for small ways to spruce up your already shaped space or hunting for ways to renovate your landscaping, we have a book for you and all titles in our Landscaping Section are 20% off until June 30, 2010.

Delta T

The mercury just hit 95 degree F outside and our office is cool and comfortable at 70 degrees F no air conditioning just clean, one-time investment of good site planning and super insulation!

Insulation is saving us money in the winter as we heat our building from the frigid temperature out side to a cozy 68 degrees inside but it also makes a tremendous difference in these hot humid days of summer. . . and yes I did say "these hot humid days of summer" and it is only May.

Learn more about designing a home that is easy to heat and cool regardless of the temperature outside in our upcoming Two Week Design Build Class

Free Intro to Concrete Countertops Class

May 22, 2010 9:30-10:30

Concrete countertops are extremely popular because of their beauty and versatility. Concrete creates a unique and beautiful product that is environmentally sound, low cost, and you can build it yourself.

In this free, one-hour workshop, we’ll discuss the many ways they can be formed, stained, ground, and finished. Our discussion will address the benefits of concrete and how to overcome its limitations. We’ll have samples for you to see and feel, and we'll walk through the process.

You'll leave with a list of materials and a cost estimate. Come with your questions and ideas, and we'll get you thinking in the right direction.

This is a FREE, one-hour workshop with a question and answer session at the end, but you must register in advance, as space is limited. Send an email with your name, address, and phone number as well as the class subject and date to info@shelterinstitute.com or call 207-442-7938 to reserve your spot today.

Concrete counter tops are attainable – we want to show you how!