Reaching for the sky in Barrington

Instead of a trip downtown, students at Roslyn Road School decided to bring the sights of the big city to Barrington as way to culminate their study of Chicago and its numerous buildings and monuments.

Students recently wrapped up their study of Chicago by creating their own smaller versions of the area's numerous landmarks.

"It is one these projects that is a tradition here," said Paul Kirk, principal at Roslyn Road.

Third-grade teacher Gina Weis said the unit starts out by explaining to the students about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and the effects it had on the city.

"One of the effects was the changing in building codes and also how everything was set up downtown," Weis said.

From there, each of the students selected their own building or landmark to study.

The students spent time researching their building, writing an essay on it and building their own replica.

"They became the building experts," Weis said.

Using shoeboxes, LEGOs, clay and many other materials, the students created more than 60 different replicas, including the Sears Tower, John Hancock Building, Buckingham Fountain, Wrigley Building, Mather Tower, SmurfitStone Building, Chase Tower, Citibank Plaza and Prudential Plaza.

"I thought they were fantastic," Weis said of the students project. "The kids worked very hard."

The school held a special "Building Fair" for the students to show off the work to their peers and parents, which Kirk said the students like.

"They get really excited about it," he said.