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Hatboro-Horsham fifth-graders build OrgelKids pipe organ with Educational Foundation support
Summary
Students at Simmons Elementary built a 48-pipe OrgelKids organ kit funded by the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation; district staff described the project as cross-curricular and invited board members to visit the school to try the instrument.
Simmons Elementary School students demonstrated a classroom-built OrgelKids pipe organ and described the project to the Hatboro-Horsham School District Board of School Directors at its March 24 legislative action meeting.
The presentation, led by Ms. Cantor, a Simmons Elementary School staff member, credited music teacher Bridget McFarland and the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation for bringing the kit to the school. "Music is important to public schools for several reasons, impacting students' academic, social, and emotional development," Ms. Cantor told the board.
Board members heard that the OrgelKids kit used in Simmons is a traveling classroom instrument intended for hands-on learning. Presenters said the classroom organ has 48 pipes (24 each of two different shapes), a tracker action keyboard, bellows and feeder system that one student can operate, and a pallet box with pull-down pins that attach to keys via leather straps. The demonstration included a time-lapse video of a fifth-grade class assembling the frame and a recording of student Chase Foster playing a short Bach piece by remote video.
The presenters said the OrgelKids kit connects to multiple subjects: history (early organ designs and cultural uses), science (sound and acoustics), math (rhythm, counting, fractions), language arts (song lyrics and storytelling) and technology (recording and multimedia). The district representative said Simmons received the kit after an application to the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation and that the instrument can travel to other district schools.
Students described the assembly as a hands-on engineering exercise that required precise joinery and teamwork; one student said building the key assembly felt "like a fun puzzle." Presenters noted the kit is durable and rebuildable by different groups of students over time.
The presenters described the kit as part of the OrgelKids program (classroom-scale pipe organs used in education). They compared the classroom instrument to large local organs such as the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia and the Boardwalk Hall organ in Atlantic City to illustrate scale and history, and said students learned about organ materials and construction.
Ms. Cantor invited board members to visit Simmons Elementary to see and play the kit in person, noting the instrument is delicate and should be moved or assembled only by those who know the system. The district thanked the Hatboro-Horsham Educational Foundation for funding the kit.
The presentation was informational; no formal board action was taken on the OrgelKids program during the meeting.
Ending: District staff said the kit will remain at Simmons for classroom use and can be scheduled to visit other schools across the Hatboro-Horsham School District by arrangement.
