Project Based Learning Electives provided by the Berrien Springs Virtual Academy
Blacksmithing at Tillers International Spring 2025
- Location: Tillers International, 10515, OP Avenue, Scotts, MI 49088
- Ages: 10 and up or instructor permission by request of parent.
- Class Time:
- Orientation meeting January 22, 5:00 PM location TBD based on class size. This date can be flexible but must take place in January
- Date: Wednesday, March 5, 12, 19, 26 9:00 - 1:00 PM
- Minimum 8, Maximum 12 students
- This class will be listed under HUMANITIES and VOCATIONAL categories.
Tillers International is an International development and rural skills education center, About 1 hour from Berrien Springs near Kalamazoo. Tom has been an active volunteer and supporter for many years. Tillers operates one of the only dedicated traditional blacksmith education facilities in the MidWest. It really is special. Students will also be exposed to the other elements of Tillers including draft horses and oxen, woodworking, traditional farming skills, and timber framing. This is a serious class with genuine skill development. The smithing will be led by highly experienced blacksmith with assistance from Tom. Parents are welcome to stay but not required. All will be reviewed at our orientation meeting.
Below is the class description from the Tillers course catalog.
This fast-paced introduction to smithing moves you through the fundamentals: basic hammer skills, Forming and drawing steel and heat treating,.. Safety, tools, techniques, materials, terminology, and shop set-up will all be explored. With an anvil for each student, there is plenty of hands-on learning and superb coaching in this popular class. The Herb Nehring Blacksmith Shop is a beautiful timber-framed structure and consists of six coal forges and twelve anvils, along with a myriad of other tools of the trade.
Check out the website: Tillers International
*Please note: it is important to make as informed a decision as possible when choosing your student's Community Resource classes. Most locations will allow a student to drop a class after one meeting, at no charge if it wasn't a good fit for the student, but not all. Some classes plan ahead based on the number that have signed up and have purchased materials, hired teachers, etc. and there might be a fee for class time or materials given to the student if the student drops after one or two meetings. The school cannot pay for classes that students do not complete, so choose wisely; if you do not take the class off of your student's schedule by the deadline, you may be asked to pay for the class time incurred prior to dropping the class.
Teacher of Record: Tom Hurst
