October 14, 2020 Students Design Templates and Help Little Vols Carve Jack o’Lanterns
The creativity and generosity of spirit from our students extends past the classroom and into giving back to the community. This month, students brought Halloween smiles to Volunteer families and festive Jack o’lanterns to many porches.
On Oct. 13, students in our American Institute of Architecture Students organization led a virtual Jack o’lantern carving activity with participants from UT’s Little Vols Club.
Little Vols, children ages 3-13, get to participate in special events on campus, especially during homecoming. Since homecoming activities are mostly virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UT Knoxville Office of Alumni Affairs was looking for different ways to engage the children. First stop: Our students.
AIAS enthusiastically volunteered to meet the challenge: Design Jack o’lantern templates for even the youngest Little Vol, create easy-to-understand instructions for Little Vols and their families and lead a carving activity via Zoom to engage and encourage children and their families across the country.
“In such an unprecedented year we jumped at the opportunity to engage with our community,” said Maggie Redding, fifth-year Architecture student and AIAS UTK Chapter president. “Homecoming, Halloween, football and fall are all such a rich part of the Volunteer tradition, and getting to be a part of it is so fun! Many kids may not fully understand everything going on in the world right now, so we hope that celebrating this time will bring smiles to their faces and joy to their families.”
Students designed two Jack o’lantern templates for the Little Vols to use: A silhouette of Smokey, a more difficult design for older children, and a Power T, an easier design for the youngest Little Vols.
Not only can our students produce unique designs to brighten a holiday, but they also can lead a group of children in a virtual pumpkin carving event.
Thank you to Pilot for sponsoring the pumpkin carving activity.
Want these Jack o’lanterns on your porch?
To use the Jack o’lantern templates, download the template(s) of your choice for free; print them; transfer the images onto your pumpkins; carve, add a light and enjoy!
