Early this fall, the second grade teachers said they wanted to further develop the Ohlone Daily Life design challenge that they did last year. In this challenge, students imagined that they were the Ohlone, a Native American people who lived in the Bay Area. As a starting point, the children walked through a wooded, natural area of the campus. The children were encouraged to think about what life would have been like for the Ohlone, what they would have needed, and how they could meet those needs with the natural materials on hand.

Soon students were bubbling over with questions: Where do they go potty? Where do they sleep at night? What are their houses like? The students were so excited that they began building potties, beds, and shelters with the natural materials that they found outside.

Back in the Innovation Lab, students shared their thoughts about the needs of the Ohlone, which they had written in their journals, and developed a focus (user + need + insight) for their design work. The teachers encouraged them to reflect on the reasons for the perceived needs. In the end, each student had a statement, such as "An Ohlone hunter needs a way to hunt quietly so he can get food." Students brainstormed ways they could meet that need using the natural materials they had gathered. They built their prototypes and paired up to give feedback to each other.

A few of the items they made using only natural materials included needles and thread, models of huts, and animal traps. Then they did the important work of redesigning a portion of their prototypes to make them even better. Through this project, the second graders were able to build their understanding of the Design Thinking process.