By David Wells, Manager of Creative Making & Learning, NYSCI
The New York Hall of Science is very excited to be hosting five members of the Maker Corps team this summer! We launched our Maker Space last spring and have been designing and implementing a wide variety of programs for kids & adults of all ages.
We develop our programs around three different models. First is Open Ended Play and Discovery, where the visitors explore materials and create anything they can imagine. This video is focuses on one of our most popular programs, Cardboard Creations.
Different materials provide different affordances, such as these magnet sticks and PVC Play Pipes. The shape of the materials scaffolds the creative process and challenges the imagination.
The second model is typically used in our afterschool and camp programs, and we call it, Deconstruction/Reconstruction. In this approach we provide the participants with an entry point into a specific content area, in this case it is music & sound.
Once we deconstruct the materials we explore the possibilities of those materials…
We used contact microphones to collect sounds from everyday materials in the room to make our own unique sound recordings. At the end of the week we invited everyone’s family and friends to the culminating party, which featured a live performance by all the campers with the Audio Geo-boards they made.
Follow this link to check out a video sample of the big day!
The third and final model we use when developing programs is an instructional workshop in which we focus on a specific tool such as 3D modeling and printing…
Arduino…
and audio recording…
These programs present a specific challenge and lead to a creative project. The participants are introduced to digital tools, which require more in depth focus and time to become comfortable with.
This is just a glimpse into what we do here and how we do it, to delve a little further into our cool Maker Programming here at the New York Hall of Science, fill out the Maker Corps application so you can join our team this summer. We have some amazing programs scheduled and are always looking for new ideas and talent from the people on our team. Come join us!
Also, for more information on our past , present and future programs check out the Maker Space at NYSCI blog. http://makerspace.nysci.org
Maker Ed is pleased to welcome NYSCI as a Maker Corps Host Site. For a complete list of current Maker Corps Host Sites, and to apply to be a Maker Corp Member, please see our Maker Corps Page. – Steve