Archive for May, 2009
Bowling ball launcher
In the midst of preparations for Maker Faire’s chain reaction collective build, we’ve been tinkering with various ways of having a grandiose finale to the whole shebang, one that would pack a lot of impact, while still being faithful to the materials and aesthetic of the rest of the activity (cardboard, paper, home-made contraptions, household items, etc.). After several ideas and prototypes, we settled on an awesome ping-pong ball launcher, powered by a falling bowling ball. This short video documents some of our prototyping process, as well as the fun we have while developing ideas!
Laser Cutting Experiments
In the last couple of weeks, I have spent many evenings playing around with our new laser cutter in the learning studio. So far I have not started any big projects, but just enjoyed the opportunity to work with such different materials on the same machine. It’s astonishing how the cutter can produce acrylic gears, colorful fabric designs, etchings in a mirror surface, fragile paper ornaments, or wood cut-outs (more in this Sample Gallery).
The image to the left shows quick 10 minute clip art designs we used to test materials, below is an example of a bigger project by Kristina Larsen. She just started to use the laser cutter with Adobe Illustrator for her artwork.
“I’ve been wanting to do something with this design for a long time. The black felt is made of polyester and the rest is a slightly thinner rayon/wool blend. The non-synthetic felt looks and feels much nicer, so I plan to swap out the black with the good stuff in dark brown. Once it’s all together I’ll attach it to a backing material, probably fabric.
I find the process of fitting the pieces together immensely satisfying, like working on a squishy jigsaw puzzle. I’m also happy with the combination of precision cuts and organic lines, and that I’ve managed to use computer and laser cutter to make something warm and handmade feeling.”
Shih Chieh Huang’s “Organic concept” installation
Visiting artist Shih Chieh Haung (”CJ”) spent last week here at the Exploratorium, researching possible collaborations, sharing his wonderful work with the staff, and generally having a good time. On his last day, we convinced him to make one of his “organic concept” installations on the museum floor. These are incredibly evocative and fun, but the execution is surprisingly simple!
All we needed to make it happen were a box fan, some painter’s tarp (which is a really thin, long sheet of plastic), and a couple of bungee cords. One end of the tarp roll gets secured over the box fan, then the fan is turned on, and the ends of the tarp are knotted together at regular intervals. The organic shape that results was an amazing draw, and it came together in less than 20 minutes! Of course visitors (especially children) attacked it immediately, but it was also really nice to see the Exploratorium staff come out of their hiding holes and start playing with it as well.
Another great advantage of this construction is the the inevitable holes and ruptures that happen can be immediately repaired by simply tying another knot! So, what we thought would last only a few minutes, ended up providing a couple of hours of solid enjoyment and wonder to many people.
Chain reaction videos: explainer style!
As promised, here are two videos showing the contraptions built by the explainers during their training with us. Cool stuff!