French Lick
In this workplace simulation French Lick Resort partnered with Paoli Jr-Sr High School, Shoals Jr-Sr High School, and Springs Valley Jr-Sr High School to design and create a gingerbread village, complete with a working trolley, and interactive holiday lighting to be auctioned in a charity event. Additional collaborative partners included Direct Employers Institute and Ivy Tech Community College.
The project was oriented towards the Hospitality and Tourism sector but Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic (STEM) were also integrated into the project. The ambitious project involved 179 students and nine teachers spread across eleven classes in the three schools (student responsibilities are listed below).
| CLASSES | ROLE OF STUDENTS |
| Culinary Arts | Design and bake gingerbread houses |
| Algebra 1 | Design layout of gingerbread houses and the scale of the whole display Determine the path and speed of the trolley |
| Integrated Chemistry and Physics | Design experiments to determine best sugar recipe for windows on the gingerbread house Create circuits to light up the gingerbread houses |
| Computer Science | Create an interactive display of lights and music |
| Principles of Engineering (PLTW) | Design and build the trolley system Program the trolley to move at specific speeds |
| Introduction to Engineering Design (PLTW) | Create the building pieces of the gingerbread houses in 3D modeling software as designed by the culinary arts students Create templates for gingerbread molds |
| Business | Work with French Lick personnel to plan the event Brainstorm ways to maximize the profit Execute the event |
| Woodworking | Create wooden scaffolds for the gingerbread houses based on designs from the Introduction to Engineering Design class |
The project culminated with a final presentation on 6 Dec 2017 at the Clifton Ballroom, French Lick Resort. This was a display of the nine gingerbread houses around the interactive light and music display. Being the first time all participating classes came together, students, teachers, administrators, and stakeholders were excited to see how the parts played by participating classes came together. It was a celebration of the learning in the project as students presented around their posters. The gingerbread houses were auctioned and a total of $422.25 was raised for the Angel Tree Foundation.