One group of students at Penn State Altoona took the class out of the classroom and put it in nature instead by building a replica of Henry David Thoreau's cabin with their bare hands.
In the interdisciplinary course combining English and environmental studies, students are reading "Walden" by American writer Henry David Thoreau. Published in 1854, it details Thoreau's experiences of simple living and self-sufficiency over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond.
The perfect opportunity for experiential learning, the 16 students spent four days building a replica of Thoreau’s cabin. The 10-foot by 15-foot structure is located at the entrance of Penn State Altoona’s Seminar Forest, across from the campus and Juniata Gap Road. "Thoreau did more than any other writer about the human connection to the natural world, so building the cabin is an opportunity to educate these students about Thoreau and his ideas," said Ian Marshall, professor of English and environmental studies and instructor for the course.
The materials were supplied by a Massachusetts company, New England Nests, which offers a kit to build the replica. Power tools were used as little as possible. The inside of the cabin contains books written by Thoreau and is decorated similarly to his original cabin.
Students building the cabin ranged from freshmen to seniors, majoring in either English or environmental studies. David Joel, a senior environmental studies major, said, "To build a replica, to put ourselves in Thoreau's shoes, through that experience, we are getting closer to why he wrote what he wrote. We are getting closer to the man, not just his words."
"I have never built anything before," said Elizabeth Watt, also a senior majoring in environmental studies. "I think everyone is even more enthusiastic about reading the book because now we're actually doing hands-on work based on the book. And everyone working together is great. Environmental studies requires a lot of team work, so this is kind of pulling it all together for everyone."
Marshall said the course is as much about exercising the body as feeding the mind. "What do you learn by doing that you wouldn’t learn in a typical classroom? What's the value of getting out and actually building something? We are thinking a lot, too, about what it is to live a physical life, not just an intellectual life, to exercise our senses, our muscles and our minds."