Dreaming Big in Middle School With Open IEC

9/24/2025

If it’s 3:45 p.m., then it must be time for Open IEC, a favorite middle school co-curricular, where you’ll find sixth graders Nathan Bencosme and Adaeze Onwumere sitting side by side, fully absorbed in their work in the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.

The two have joined forces on a project that will involve 3D printing and electrical work. For now, they are in the early design stage. Bencosme explained, “I'm working on a claw machine with Ada that picks up things like kitchen utensils, which is really cool because my mom loves cooking and I want to help her with that but in a fun way.”

These design ideas and others are being realized during Open IEC, where some 20 middle school and 30 upper school students get to create, innovate and collaborate on projects of their own.

Onwumere, who enjoys drawing and working with computers, said, “I like creating my own ideas, and when I’m here, I can build things without having too many restrictions.”

Middle school IEC teacher Rae Johnson ’11, who oversees Open IEC with upper school innovation, engineering and computer science colleagues Jonah Hardy and John Chiodo, finds it exciting to see what students can create.

“There's so much that isn't academic that we do here, like creating original designs and making clothing out of it,” Johnson said. “That is a technical skill that you can learn and apply to a lot of different projects that we don't get to cover in class.”

Middle schoolers have started making stickers and prints, working with 3D modeling and laser engraving and learning how to use animation software. Eighth grade student Eli Goldfine has been working on building a telescope with assistance from upper school IEC students.

“I'm trying to learn this new platform, Fusion 360, because before I only knew Tinkercad, which is a 3D-printing and laser-cutting platform, but it's not very precise, so I have to learn this other one,” Goldfine said.

Hardy noted that the upper school students are engaging in projects that merge “robotics, physical computing, electronics, woodworking, and 3D printing.” He emphasized that the IEC faculty is committed to fostering spaces where innovation and creativity can thrive, empowering students to bring their ideas to life.

As for encouraging more middle schoolers to join in, Hardy said, “We're hoping that as the year goes on, we can introduce more cross-divisional projects and bring them into this (upper school) space even more.”