Clay Structures

For the past 2 weeks we were working on making clay structures. We were doing it for social studies and math. We had to do mini research reports for buildings like the Hudson Bay Company trading posts and residential schools. We also did it for math, to learn about 3D forms and to figure out what the sides of the building had to look like.  After a week almost everyone was done. Then we had to kiln them for 16 hours. After that day we got to glaze when they were cool. We all had to put 3 layers of whatever color we used, and not get any glaze on the bottom.  Mr. Nesbitt helped us with putting the clay in the kiln. Mr. Nesbitt is our “Kiln Master”. The temperature is about 2000 degrees. The kiln is about 20 years old and weighs about 500 pounds. When the buildings we make are too tall it’s a problem getting them into the kiln. Mr. Nesbitt uses the kiln about 10 times a year.