On Feb. 7, students from the Entrepreneurship Program at Hampden-Sydney College brought a new perspective on math to the 6th graders at Prince Edward County Middle School. If I Had a Hammer is a mathematics-learning program in which middle school students participate in a live build of a large-scale replica “house.” Teachers can then use the accompanying curriculum and classroom tools to develop an innovative method of teaching a variety of mathematical concepts including addition and subtraction, fractions, algebra, and geometry.

The If I Had a Hammer experience has been used in over 65 cities in 12 states, but it has been difficult to get the program to areas outside of major urban centers, prompting founder and CEO, Perry Wilson (center), to reach out to the colleges and universities in these areas.

This spring, The Center for Entrepreneurship and Political Economy at Hampden-Sydney College is sponsoring the first-ever “Hammer House” college team. The H-SC “Hammer House” team consists of six students, each responsible for some aspect of running the program including operations management, “build” instruction, school administrator relations, corporate sponsorship sales, and public relations. With on-going training and development, the H-SC students will be entirely responsible for the operation and expansion of the program. Each “Hammer House” team could potentially bring this experience to about 30 groups of students each year in the area south of Richmond to Lynchburg.