Here is the brief sent to the school
What it is about
This workshop will give you hands–on experience with technology, introducing you to
simple electronics (using littleBits, https://littlebits.cc/products)
explored through creative art based workshops. See some prototype creature’s
here http://introductiontointeractivesculpture.blogspot.co.uk
What children will be doing
Using everyday
materials, with an accompanying discussion of some ideas considering temporary,
interactive artworks, you will create 'A Creature in a Cup'.
The electronics
will give you the chance to bring your cup to life, (e.g. using littleBits your
creature could make synthesised sounds in response to a sensor, could link to a
series of LED lights, trigger movement, activate a motor... its up to your
imagination).
We will explore how electronics can bring simple everyday materials to life,
these creatures will exist for just for the workshop, their
movements, shapes, sounds will be captured in a short video recording their
life cycle from cup to creature. We create a blog post documenting the day
and showing the video of Cup Creatures in action.
When it will be, how many hours on how many days etc.
Workshop
times to be arranged with school
What they need
to provide?
Recycled containers such as paper/plastic cups,
cardboard boxes, plastic water bottles, egg boxes etc
Any craft materials such as cloth, foil, feathers
etc and tape, glue, scissors etc
We will provide
littleBits electronics kits, video recording
equipment, laptop.
FEEDBACK FROM WORKSHOPThe teacher from Redlands School collected some feedback from staff and children about the workshop. She also mentioned that the workshop has been used as a stimulus for work in literacy, writing information texts about the creatures the children created.
Many thanks to Katy Hathaway and to all the fantastic children from Redlands School
Redlands Primary School – Creatures in a Cup Workshop
Children’s feedback:
We loved:
making creature models
wiring the littlebits
presenting
video
sound effects (especially music)
The best bit was:
changing sounds
having the freedom to do anything you wanted
watching each others' presentations
drama at the end
making a male creature too
when everything came together and our creatures worked
We learnt:
how to connect littleBits to make them work
connecting different parts
electricity isn't always wires
how to make circuits and how they worked
the green bits always go at the end
It would be even better if:
It
was longer!
explain at start of session how to
use the stuff
clearer on when we needed to start
making
using headphones for sounds
(noisy)
keeping electric bits
more electric bits!
making whatever you wanted
you could come back again!
· All children were completely immersed in the electronics and their
creature creating.
· Workshop really captured the imagination of girls and boys, and children
who are normally quite quiet were animated and played a substantial role in
their groups
· High adult-pupil ratio meant that all groups were well supported in
their exploration of littleBits and how they work
· littleBits were excellent – intuitive, very well-suited to this age
group and provided children hands-on experience of circuits and their practical
use
· the presentations and videos at the end gave the day purpose and
captured the creatures in all their glory, before they were dismantled. Many children
commented on how much they enjoyed this part of the day.
· Scope for two days work rather than one, maybe first morning looking at
littleBits in a more structured way, talking about how they work and what they
can do (children got a lot out of their exploration of the components before
creating their creatures), then planning and making their creature. The second
day could focus on finishing off, presentations and film-making.
· Excellent stimulus for follow-up work in literacy (we’re currently
planning and writing information texts about our creatures!)
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