Updates from Discovery Class and the Capital Campaign

The Power of Imagination

This week, the Discovery class took a trip to the Renaissance. 

We strapped into our time machines, dialed in the year 1500, pulled the lever [insert wheezing and whirring time machine vocalizations here], and stepped out onto the cobblestone streets of Renaissance Italy. We looked up at the tall, close together houses, admired the heavy, layered dresses and the lack of pockets of the people walking past, and listened to the “clippity clop” of horses carrying wagons down the car-less road. We took a stroll through the market, wandering the stalls and steering clear of manure piles. When we made a purchase, we wrapped it in a cloth. On our way home, we passed an artist and apprentice (who was the same age as the Discovery kids!) carving a sculpture, a blacksmith making armor in a hot fire (watch out for sparks!), and a stonecutter cutting marble [insert sneezes from dust, here]. At home, we sat down for dinner. There were no forks or plates—instead, we used flatbread as a plate to scoop up stew and then ate our plate with the stew! There was also no clean drinking water—we drank juice instead! After our scrumptious meal, we strapped back into our time machines and returned to the year 2026. 



After our travels, the Discovery kids showed the power of their imaginations—they remembered dozens of details from the imaginary walk through an Italian Renaissance town and could describe what life was like 500 years ago and point out the differences between 1500 and 2026. Now, when learning about the Renaissance inventors and artists, they will have a framework for understanding the past in which these ideas and creations were occurring.