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Tiny House nears completion

Project 18, also known as the Tiny House,, reached an end of the year milestone Wednesday, but even though the school year ended, students will be returning to complete the project. (Press photo James Grob.)
Project 18, also known as the Tiny House, reached an end of the year milestone Wednesday, but even though the school year ended, students will be returning to complete the project. (Press photo James Grob.)
By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The “Tiny House” is just a couple of weeks away from completion.

“We’re really close,” said Charles City vocational agriculture teacher Jim Lundberg.

Project 18, as it is called, based on the 2018 school year, reached an end-of-the-year milestone Wednesday, but even though the school year ended, students will be returning to complete construction.

Lundberg hopes to see the house as one of the attractions at this year’s Fourth of July parade in Charles City.

“The first thing we’d like to do is haul it around the community this summer, at different events — maybe the county fair, or the Party in the Park,” he said. “Obviously we want to sell it, that’s our ultimate goal.”

The project-based learning endeavor has pulled together the skills and interests of students in art, agriculture construction, business, math, communications classes and others to design, budget for, build and promote the house.

Project 18 was conceived last year by 21st Century Task Force Members from Charles City as they were on their way home from San Diego after looking at High Tech High. Selected students worked together this entire school year to create the house.

The art classes worked on designs and models. The financial classes worked on finance and funding. The industrial tech class helped build from scratch the trailer that the house is on and family/consumer science students helped design the house’s interior.

Journalism students have been writing articles about the process of the project and taking notes and pictures throughout the school year.

The Tiny House still needs six pieces of metal put on to the outside. Lights, trim, furniture and appliances also need to be added, although electricity and plumbing are all finished and up to code.

Lundberg hosted a morning breakfast and presentation in the ag and industrial tech work area at the high school on Wednesday, where he thanked and recognized the many students, teachers, administrators and school board members — as well as a multitude of local businesses — who supported or contributed to the project.

“This was a huge undertaking, just a huge project,” Lundberg said.

Lundberg thanked the many business people in the community who contributed time and money to the project, and certificates were handed to the many who were involved.

At the presentation was a mix of teachers and students from agriculture and industrial tech classes, business classes and art classes. Lundberg also expressed gratitude to students in English classes for their help with the project.

“If I had to do it all over again, it would be a two-year project, because we could have learned a lot more,” Lundberg said. “We did learn a ton, but I think we could have learned a lot more if we’d have taken a little more time.”

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