December 22, 1999
School project explores Building 50
By Garret Leiva
Herald editor
While the oil pastels have dried and the essay revisions are complete, the work for students at Traverse City Central Grade School has just begun. After all, when your school work concerns Building 50 there is extensive ground to cover - four football fields in fact.
A combined third-fifth- and sixth-grade project, the fall field trip brought 170 students to Building 50 on the Grand Traverse Commons grounds. While the day was a valuable history lesson, it also integrated art, writing, science and mathematical studies.
Walking down the hallways at Central Grade, it is easy to see the impression Building 50 made. Many of which are suitable for framing.
Using direct observation, students sketched an impressionistic view of the old state hospital building. Art teacher Cherie Correll noted that each 20 to 30 minute quick rendering was made entirely with oil pastels.
"I just fell in love with these works. The way they mixed the colors, and the character of the building was really captured by the students," said Correll, who plans a spring field trip to do charcoal rubbings of the building's walls.
"I told them to be bold and not be afraid to make the windows different colors. They turned out wonderfully expressionistic," she said.
Equally expressive were the words students chose to describe the 1890s structure. Third-grade teacher Tracey Westerman said her students penned poetry, essays and descriptive paragraphs as part of the Building 50 project.
Students also listened to several guest speakers who shared history of the building. The class even heard from one student's grandfather who worked at the state hospital for 20 years.
Other academic disciplines explored on the field trip were science and mathematics. Students studied the Commons' unique ecosystem through a scientific scavenger hunt. Looking for specific leaves, bird feathers and plant seeds was a way to explore the surrounding woodlands and wetlands, said fifth-grade teacher, Brian Klauer.
A math and science teacher, Klauer noted that students discussed how future development plans for Building 50 might impact the surrounding environment. Students also learned some fascinating mathematical facts.
"Using mathematics, the students determined that the building is four football fields in length and more than seven million bricks were used to construct Building 50," Klauer said.
This past week students had a chance to see those bricks up close as the project moved inside. Asked to describe Building 50 after this interior tour, third-grader Kandice House saw the building in a positive light.
"I think they should try to save it. I like old buildings that have interesting things," House said.
Her classmate, Meegan Dixon was not so optimistic about the building's future.
"I asked my mom and she wanted them to tear it down because it was dangerous. I wasn't sure (but) some parts looked that way," Dixon said.
Much like the future of Building 50, the students' project remains a work in progress; including the springtime field trip.
"This is a community problem and we want the kids to be involved with the process and to understand that the adults don't have the answer," said third-grade teacher Westerman. "We want them to do some brainstorming."