From Blueprint to Food Truck: Grade 7 Students Bring Design Thinking to Life

Every year, I ask myself the same question: How do you give students a reason to truly care about what they are creating?

This year, the answer was a food truck.

Not a drawing of one. Not a slideshow about one. A fully designed, hand-built, motorized model that students created from the ground up and proudly showcased to the GNS community during our Mini Food Truck Festival on May 22, 2026.

Food trucks proved to be the perfect vehicle for this kind of learning. They are small businesses built on culture, creativity and human connection. Every successful food truck tells a story through its name, branding, menu and customer experience. Students were challenged to think like entrepreneurs, considering not only what they wanted to create, but also who their customers would be and why someone would choose their truck over another.

The project reflects a growing emphasis on real-world design thinking and entrepreneurship throughout the Glenlyon Norfolk School MYP Design program. Across Grades 6–10, students are increasingly asked to tackle authentic challenges, develop solutions for real audiences, and think beyond simply making a product. Instead, they learn to identify needs, understand users, communicate value, and bring ideas to life through purposeful design. The Grade 7 Food Truck Project serves as an early introduction to these entrepreneurial mindsets that students continue to develop throughout their Design journey at GNS.

The project followed the IB Design Cycle, guiding students through the stages of Inquiring and Analysing, Developing Ideas, Creating the Solution, and Evaluating. Students began by researching food trucks from around the world and asking important questions: Who is this for? What message does it communicate? What makes it unique? Those questions became the foundation for every decision that followed.

From there, the real building began.

Students constructed their trucks using laser-cut wooden components, 3D-designed and printed parts, clay, paint, and other fabrication materials. They also wired batteries to motors, allowing their trucks to move under their own power. Throughout the process, students encountered challenges that required persistence, creativity and problem-solving. When a piece did not fit, they adapted their design. When teams disagreed, they learned to communicate and compromise. When an idea did not work as planned, they revised, tested and tried again.

The Mini Food Truck Festival marked the culmination of weeks of learning that extended far beyond a typical classroom project. Students transformed the Dining Hall into a vibrant showcase space, displaying their finished trucks alongside hand-designed menus and serving real food connected to their truck’s cultural theme. Guests sampled homemade pulled pork tacos, fresh lemonade, pickled cactus salsa, Greek kabobs, homemade cookies, ice cream and many other treats while learning about the design process behind each creation.

The atmosphere throughout the morning was electric. The Dining Hall buzzed with excitement as students, teachers, staff and visitors flowed through the displays. Word of the event spread quickly, and students from across the school stopped by to investigate the unique food trucks, sample the food offerings, and hear directly from the designers behind them. The showcase became one of those special school moments where learning was visible, authentic and impossible to ignore.

“This is by far one of the most engaging and exciting events that’s taken place in the Dining Hall in recent memory,” said Myki Engelland, GNS Food Services Coordinator. “The energy, creativity, and pride displayed by the students were incredible to see.”

Perhaps the most impressive part of the event was the confidence students demonstrated when discussing their work. They explained their research, described challenges they encountered, and walked visitors through the decisions they made along the way. Conversations touched on branding, functionality, cultural influences, fabrication techniques, engineering, marketing, and teamwork. More importantly, students spoke with genuine ownership and pride in what they had accomplished.

Projects like this are not always neat or predictable. Teams must navigate differing opinions, manage timelines, and discover that building something physical often requires more patience than expected. Yet those moments frequently become the most valuable learning experiences. Students learn that strong design rarely emerges from a first attempt and that perseverance is often just as important as creativity.

Mr. Jon Hamlin, Director of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, praised both the students and the vision behind the project.

“Mr. Brown has an exceptional ability to tap into student interests and transform them into meaningful learning experiences,” said Hamlin. “His creativity, vision and commitment to personalized learning allow students to connect their passions with authentic design challenges. The result is learning that is engaging, memorable and deeply connected to the real world.”

The Mini Food Truck Festival was a celebration of creativity, collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship. More importantly, it gave students an authentic opportunity to experience what design looks like in the real world: identifying a need, developing an idea, overcoming challenges, understanding an audience, and confidently sharing a finished product with others.

That is the kind of learning that lasts long after the final truck rolls across the finish line.