Creature in a Cup Workshop

On Tuesday this week we took the littleBits kit from the ArtLab to the Institute of Education so that a group of (trainee) primary school teachers could experience the Creature in a Cup Workshop first hand and see how it cold potentially be used within their own teaching practice. After a short introduction about how to use the modules by Kassie and Laura, each of the group created a simple creature using basic craft materials.

Unlike the Creature in a Cup workshop we gave at the primary schools over the Summer, where children made creatures out of any materials to hand (including boxes, plastic bottles, etc.) this workshop used only paper cups and a variety of craft materials to create the creatures. We had only 1.5 hours for this workshop, so anything larger would have been difficult!

This creature has an antenna that swings to and fro on top and wheels so that it can move around on the table:

This bird-like example has a moving tail ....

... and I think this one has moving arks, powered by a servo:

Some additional photos of the workshop:

Feedback was collected at the end of the workshop using an audio recorder, and suggests that the activity could be used (possibly in a variety of modified forms) for school workshops to assist in teaching subject right across the curriculum. We have invited the group to visit the ArtLab at the Department of Art at Reading University so that they can see the facilities for Widening Participation, and to arrange future workshop sessions.