One of the songs being performed at the Pequea Valley Intermediate School winter band concert called for a unique percussion instrument called the marching machine. This machine features a series of suspended wooden blocks that mimics the footfalls of marching feet. It can be purchased, but band director James Ackerman saw the band's need as an opportunity for a crosscurricular project.
Ackerman approached science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teacher Jamiel Smoker to see if it would be a suitable project for some members of the class. Smoker agreed and assigned four learners - Paul McGinley, Owen Pierce, Owen Hartmann, and Sean Ammon - to the project. With a basic plan found online, the learners used an online design program called Tinkercad and conferred with Ackerman regarding size, materials, and timetable. For the next few months, they used class time in STEM class, under Smoker's guidance, to laminate sapele wood for the frame rails, create the blocks, and sand and finish all the parts. Along the way, the learners checked with Ackerman regarding questions of design and supply. Within a few months, the marching machine was completed and ready for use in band rehearsals.
Owen, a percussionist, plays the instrument in a piece called "Terracotta Warriors" by Scott Watson. When the project was finished, Ackerman contacted Watson and shared the story of Pequea Valley's marching machine. Watson asked for more details of its manufacture so he could share it on his social media sites and website for other schools to use as a template for a similar experience.
To view a short video about the instrument, readers may visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaaZQhIbYNw.
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