How to Use a Printed Canopy as a School Tent?

Whether for charitable drives or tailgating events, the schools, colleges and universities have been using custom printed canopy tents within their premise for many years. Conventionally, canopies were used to provide shade and act as venues for orientation, senior-fresher mixers, prom nights and sporting events. However, with social distancing becoming the norm in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these nifty outdoor shelters are now being used as outdoor classrooms and lunchrooms, information booths, screening tents and outdoor gyms as well.

The idea behind an outdoor classroom underneath a custom tent is not just to help limit the time students spend in enclosed spaces, but also to adhere to the social distancing guidelines laid down by the local governments and CDC.

Canopies can be installed outside the classrooms, on the playgrounds or over the walkways. Most schools are using a 20×20 printed tent for makeshift classrooms and a custom 10×10 pop-up tent as an information desk or a screening booth.

Emory University is utilizing custom printed canopy tents to expand their dining halls. Purdue is installing tents to create “grab and go” cafeterias. Stanford University is considering moving their indoor classrooms underneath clear span canopies. University Provost Persis Drell observed, “absolutely nothing is off the table.”

Nobody ever imagined that a printed canopy would be used as a classroom. But here we are, almost a century later after the Spanish Flu (103 years to be precise), trying to normalize life during these unprecedented times. Canopy tents are designed to ensure the safety of students from inclement weather as well as slow down the spread of the coronavirus.

 

Custom Tent Structures for Outdoor School Tents

School and college classrooms and cafeterias are often jam-packed. Many lecture halls have bolted seats that cannot be moved elsewhere. It’s nearly impossible to ensure social distancing in conventional classrooms – and this is where a custom tent comes into the picture. Canopy tents come in all shapes and sizes and they can be custom designed to deliver the social distancing that the educational institutions desire.

 

What Kind of Areas Can You Create Under a School Tent?

At Extreme Canopy, we design custom printed tents for kindergartens, elementary, middle and high schools. You can use our custom printed canopy tents as:

 

Outdoor Classrooms

With a deeper understanding of the COVID-19 virus, educators and scientists are urging school administration to invest in open-air classrooms. According to the Inside-Outside Advisory Group, “using outdoor learning spaces offers a reduced risk of virus transmission and provides positive mental health and academic learning benefits.”

Indoor classrooms can be expanded under custom printed canopy tents of different colors and sizes to offer a seamless and uninterrupted flow of education. Teachers can continue their lessons without worrying about the safety and well-being of their students and themselves.

 

Outdoor Lunchrooms

Lunchtime is common for every grade in any school. With hundreds of students wanting to eat at the same time, social distancing norms become difficult to practice in the lunchrooms. A custom tent can play an instrumental role in implementing social distancing here.

Linsey Marr, a Professor and Engineering and Aerosol Scientist at Virginia Tech, also agrees with this thought. “I think outdoors is so much better than indoors in almost all cases”, she says, “there’s so much dilution that happens outdoors.” Schools can set up additional outdoor lunchrooms without incurring expensive construction costs to safeguard their employees and students.

 

Open Air-Gyms

Gymnasiums are infamous for being “smelly”, since they’re enclosed within a brick and mortar building with very little or no air circulation. During these unprecedented times, it’s best to avoid inhaling air that contains the sweat, breath and odor of perspiring kids and teachers.

The best solution? An outdoor gym underneath a printed canopy. The open space will keep a light breeze flowing through that will quickly dilute any virus. Moreover, the gym will remain fresh round the clock.

 

Covid Information Booths

As important as it is to implement social distancing guidelines within the school premises, making sure that the kids, teachers and employees are aware of all the health and safety requirements is the hour of the need too. Setting up an information booth where people can get answers to their queries is the right way to go and a custom tent comes in very handy.

For instance, a custom 10×10 pop-up tent can be set up near the front entrance where information personnel can be present at all times. This will help everyone to understand the situation better and act accordingly. Other than these, several schools are also considering using custom canopy tents to set up onsite screening zones, isolation wards and vaccination clinics on their premises.

 

Outdoor Learning Spaces – Creating Situations with ‘Medium Risk’

The best part about using a custom tent to expand the indoor spaces is the fact that students can still engage in discussion and coursework with their peers, in person. Although remote learning is the safest option in the fight against the pandemic, CDC suggests that the school and college administrations opt for a medium-risk situation.

It defines medium-risk as in-person events that are held in small groups. These small groups stay together with one teacher and do not mix with other groups on the campus throughout the semester. Additionally, social distancing is practiced within each group, students staying at least 6 feet away from their peers and not share resources and supplies.

The medium-risk might not be the most conducive situation, but it certainly helps overcome the challenges students have been facing while learning virtually. For instance, lack of access to technology, distracting home environments, unreliable internet connections and improper nutrition.

 

What Kind of Printed Canopies Can be Used on the School Premises?

Instant canopies are a popular choice for school tent because they are feature-laden and affordable. These are available in a number of sizes, starting from 8x8ft and going all the way up to a 20×20 printed tent. These don’t require any assembly and can be transported to virtually any location.

 

Here’s why you should buy a custom tent for your school premises from Extreme Canopy:

• An array of options that suit the needs of the school.
• Every canopy can be customized with bespoke branding to showcase the school’s insignia.
• High-quality craftsmanship with a Manufacturer’s Warranty on the frame and fabric of up to 5 years.