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Making Cardboard Automata - CARDBOARD AUTOMATA | Coursera

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Video created by Exploratorium for the course “Tinkering Fundamentals: Motion and Mechanisms”. This week, we turn our attention to Cardboard Automata: inspired by crank-operated mechanical devices that tell miniature stories with movement and…

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How to Make a Automata Toy From Cardboard

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How To Make Flying Bird Automaton from Cardboard | Easy & Fun Homemade Invention

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DIY Jumping rope exercise toys From Cardboard | วิธีทำของเล่นหุ่นกระโดดเชือก

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Tinkering Project: Two Frame Animation | Exploratorium

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Dot. The World's Smallest Stop-Motion Animation Character Shot on a Nokia N8 - SymbianZone.us

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Bring you stories to life! Stop motion animation is a simple step-by-step process to create movement on a screen. The tools are easy to use (and often free) to animate your world. Use a wide variety of materials to tell a story, a joke, or even a surprise.

Share your creations with us using the hashtags #StopMotion and #TinkeringAtHome.

You can create animations without technology - you only need some simple materials - a flipbook is a way to make drawings move with a pencil, a stack of thick paper and a binder clip to hold them together. Make a simple drawing on the opposite side of the binder that you change just a little on each page. As you work flip through the pages to see it move. You can also do a drawing on just two sheets of thin paper and by rolling up the top sheet use a pencil to show it changing.

Some of these ideas are very very old. This is an example of an ancient toy - when you spin it you see the animal drawn on both sides running. This may be the first example of a thaumatrope.

A thaumatrope is an early invention in animation and very simple to make. It consists of two images (or frames) that are glued/stapled back to back and this card or disc is spun on strings or turned on a stick between your hands. Check out this guide to get started.

Stop motion animation on a large scale is really fun to try at home and with friends. All you need to do is hang a webcam up high, find a long USB cable to connect to your computer, and download a free animation software. You can find lots of props around the house or make your own out of cardboard. We found large blankets and fabric pieces, hula hoops, and cardboard props like wings, clouds, or a skateboard inspiring. It's fun to play with the perspective and make movies where you're flying, gliding, or doing other seemingly impossible stunts.

Scratch is an easy to use online coding platform for telling visual stories and making games with code. Stop Motion animation is a great way to create unique characters that can become the main character in your Scratch project or a game. Combine your hand-drawn and hand-crafted elements with existing backdrops from the Scratch universe to send your animated character on and adventure.

Want to learn more? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to add your own handmade sprites to Scratch.

Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger was a German filmmaker who created the 1926 animation "The Adventures of Prince Achmed." This is believed to be one of the first feature-length animations. It is a beautiful story that uses paper puppets to create silhouettes that are moved frame by frame.

"Fresh Guacamole" is a stop-motion animation that was nominated in 2013 for an Academy Award by the artist PES. This film is the 3rd is part of the stop-motion cooking genre of films. The film uses props for beautiful animation as well as social metaphors to tell the story.

Oskar Wilhelm Fischinger was an early animator who created abstract musical animations long before computers were used to create animated graphics (he also inspired the Disney film Fantasia). A wonderful example is "An Optical Poem" 1938 - a stop-motion animation created using paper cut outs suspended by wires.

GAME OVER Project created "TETRIS" a video performance of the GAME OVER Project. In this stop-motion project live performers sit in rows in an auditorium to recreate the Tetris computer game. Adding to the human element the soundtrack is composed of singers making the sounds of the computer beeps and music.

Sumo Science: Dot is a stop-motion animation that has a 9mm girl named Dot moving through a microscopic world. The film was shot using a cell phone and a microscope attachment. Buttons, coins, flowers and even a bee show up in the animation.

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Tinkering Exploration: Stop Motion Animation | Exploratorium

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Bring you stories to life! Stop motion animation is a simple step-by-step process to create movement on a screen. The tools are easy to use (and often free) to animate your world. Use a wide variety of materials to tell a story, a joke, or even a surprise.

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Free Storyboarding Software — Online Storyboard Creator

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Storyboard That: Easy online storyboard creation! Perfect for filmmakers, teachers, and students. Create storyboards and comics with Storyboard That today!

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chain reaction

Rube Goldberg

REUBEN LUCIUS GOLDBERG E' NATO IL 4 LUGLIO DEL 1883 A SAN FRANCISCO. RUBE NUTRIVA UNA PROFONDA PASSIONE PER L'ARTE SIN DALL'INFANZIA, MA SUO PADRE NON LA RITENEVA OPPORTUNA COSÌ QUANDO CREBBE RUBE ANDÒ AL COLLEGE E DIVENNE INGEGNERE. SI LAUREÒ A BERKLEY NEL 1904 COME INGEGNERE. LAVORÒ PER IL DIPARTIMENTO DI INGEGNERIA NAVALE DI SAN FRANCISCO, MA DOPO 6 MESI ABBANDONÒ ED INIZIÒ A LAVORARE PER UN GIORNALE DI SAN FRANCISCO.

Rube Goldberg

DURANTE LA SUA PERMANENZA AL GIORNALE RUBE REALIZZÒ DEI DISEGNI E FUMETTI CHE SPERAVA VENISSERO PUBBLICATI, MA LI TROVAVA SPESSO NEL CESTINO DELL'EDITORE. UN GIORNO PERÒ GLI VENNE DATA LA POSSIBILITÀ DI DISEGNARE GLI ATLETI PER LA SEZIONE SPORTIVA E QUANDO IL DIRETTORE CAPÌ CHE IL GIORNALE CON IMMAGINI VENDEVA DI PIÙ, GLI VENNE FINALMENTE DATA UNA PAGINA PER I SUOI FUMETTI. INIZIÒ COSÌ LA SUA CARRIERA E I SUOI DISEGNI LO PORTARONO FINO A NEW YORK.

Rube Goldberg

RUBE GOLDBERG DIVENNE UN GRANDE FUMETTISTA, MA IL SUO NOME DIVENNE SEMPRE PIÙ GRANDE PER LE SUPER DIVERTENTI REAZIONI A CATENA CHE DISEGNAVA. SI TRATTAVA DI REAZIONI A CATENA IPER COMPLESSE DESTINATE AD ASSOLVERE COMPITI DAVVERO SEMPLICI COME SPEGNERE LA SVEGLIA O APRIRE L'OMBRELLO. LA PARTE DIVERTENTE DELLE SUE REAZIONI A CATENA ERA ANCHE IL FATTO CHE USASSE ELEMENTI INSOLITI COME ANIMALI, ROCCE, CATAPULTE, PIUME E ALTRO.

Questo è uno dei suoi disegni più famosi dove, semplicemente per soffiarsi il naso ha utilizzato una catapulta di cracker, un pappagallo, un accendino, un lancia razzi e un pendolo dove aveva attaccato il fazzoletto che con il suo movimento puliva la sua bocca durante la cena.

Rube Goldberg ha disegnato più di 50000 fumetti durante la sua vita,è diventato così famoso che il suo nome è un aggettivo nel dizionario.

Le mie macchine sono il simbolo della capacità dell'uomo di utilizzare il massimo sforzo per ottenere il risultato minimo.- Rube Goldberg

Inspiring people

NONOSTANTE RUBE GOLDBERG NON ABBIA MAI COSTRUITO NESSUNA DELE SUE INGEGNOSE MACCHINE È STATO D'ISPIRAZIONE PER TANTI. NEL 1949 DUE STUDENTI DELLA PURDUE UNIVERSITY INIZIARONO UN CONTEST DEDICATO ALLE REAZIONI A CATENA DI RUBE GOLDBERG. IL CONTEST VENNE REPLICATO OGNI ANNO FINO AL 1955. NEL 1988 LA PRIMA GARA UFFICIALE VENNE REALIZZATA CON IL SUPPORTO DELLA FAMIGLIA GOLDBERG. IL PRIMO CONTEST ERA PER STUDENTI DEL COLLEGE, POI NEL 1996 VENNE REALIZZATA ANCHE UNA DIVISIONE PER RAGAZZI DAI 14 AI 18 ANNI ED ORA CI SONO ANCHE GARE DAGLI 11 AI 14 E DAGLI 8 AGLI 11.

Inspiring people

OGNI ANNO IL CONTEST PROPONE UNA CHALLENGE DIVERSA COME TOSTARE UNA FETTA DI PANE, ASSEMBLARE UN HAMBURGER O APPLICARE UN BENDAGGIO. LA CHALLENGE CONSISTE NEL RISPONDERE ALLA RICHIESTA APPLICANDO I PRINCIPI DI RUBE GOLDBERG DI REALIZZARE L'AZIONE PIÙ SEMPLICE CON LA MACCHINA PIÙ COMPLESSA - E DIVERTENTE- CHE CI SIA.

Competenze

IL CONTEST RICHIEDE:- PROBLEM SOLVING- SCIENZA E INGEGNERIA- TEAMWORK- DIVERTIMENTO

L'elemento più importante senza il quale non è possibile realizzare uan reazione a catena èla propria immaginazione.

Raccogliere i materiali

PRIMA DI INIZIARE DIRETTAMENTE L'ATTIVITÀ PRATICA, SARÀ NECESSARIO RECUPERARE I MATERIALI. SE CONSIDERIAMO CHE IN CLASSE LAVOREREMO IN GRUPPO, FACCIAMO IN MODO CHE OGNI TAVOLO ABBIA LA STESSA DISPONIBILITÀ DI MATERIALI BASE. TENIAMO PRESENTE CHE POTREMMO ANCHE INCLUDERE DEI MATERIALI ELETTRICI COME MOTORINI, NASTRO CONDUTTIVO O ELEMENTI FISSI DI LEGNO CHE SARANNO USATI IN COMBINAZIONE CON GLI ALTRI MATERIALI.

Oggetti che rotolano

DAL MOMENTO CHE STIAMO PARLANDO DI REAZIONE A CATENA QUINDI DI MOVIMENTO CHE GENERA ALTRO MOVIMENTO SICURAMENTE NON POSSIAMO DIMENTICARCI DI PROCURARE OGGETTI CHE ROTOLANO SUI NOSTRI TAVOLI DI LAVORO.

Oggetti che decorano

OLTRE I MATERIALI CHE ROTOLANO SARANNO NECESSARI MATERIALI PER DECORARE SPECIALMENTE SE STABILIAMO UN TEMA PER LA NOSTA CHALLENGE. NELL'IMMAGINE TRA GLI IMMANCABILI IN UN PROGETTO TINKERING GI OCCHIETTI CHE SI MUOVONO E GLI SCOVOLINI PER LA PIPA COLORATI.

Oggetti che ispirano

COSTRUIRE UNA CHAIN REACTION E' UN'ATTIVITA' ESTREMAMENTE CREATIVA PERTANTO SARANNO NECESSARI ANCHE OGGETTI VARI CHE POSSANO ISPIRARE LA CREAZIONE DI ALCUNI MOMENTI DELLA REAZIONE. COSA VI FA VENIRE IN MENTE QUELLO STIVALE DA COWBOY NELL'IMMAGINE AD ESEMPIO?

Il setting d'aula

SE IL LAVORO AVVERRÀ IN GRUPPI DOBBIAMO ANCHE CERCARE DI DISPORRE I BANCHI IN MODO CHE I BAMBINI POSSANO FACILMENTE GIRARE INTORNO AD ESSI PER OSSERVARE I MOVIMENTI CREATI E COSTRUIRE LE LORO IDEE FACILMENTE.

Tema della challenge

PRENDENDO SPUNTO DALLE PRIME CHALLENGE RUBE GOLDBERG STABILIAMO EVENTUALMENTE ANCHE UN TEMA DELLA NOSTRA SFIDA PER INCORAGGIARE ANCHE UN ASPETTO NARRATIVO NELLA PROGRESSIONE DELLA NOSTRA REAZIONE A CATENA.

Esempio: Far esplodere un palloncino

Per far esplodere il palloncino, un'automobilina con un ago incollato sul davanti scivola giù da una superficie e colpisce il palloncino.

Per spingere giù la macchinina un peso cade in una tazzina la quale spinge una leva sotto l'automobilina.

Per spingere il peso dentro la tazzina, una fila di tessere domino viene abbattuta.

Per far cadere le tessere domino, la prima viene colpita da un bastoncino.

Per spingere il bastoncino in avanti una fila di libri cade colpendo il sccessivo fino a colpire il bastoncino.

Per far cadere il primo libro una palla rotola giù da una pendenza e colpisce il primo libro.

Carte creative

IDEA MOLTO CARINA REALIZZATA SEMPRE DAL TINKERING STUDIO E' QUELLO DI REALIZZARE UN SET DI CARTE CREATIVE DA CUI I RAGAZZI POSSONO EVENTUALMENTE SCEGLIERNE UN CERTO NUMERO E GLI ELEMENTI DISEGNATI SARANNO I PEZZI OBBLIGATORI E DI PARTENZA PER LA LORO CHALLENGE.

Esempi e ispirazione

INTORNO AI TAVOLI DOVE LAVORERANNO I RAGAZZI POSSIAMO CREARE DELLE ISOLE DOVE POTRANNO ALTERNARSI NELL'USO DELLA COLLA A CALDO O SE NECESSITANO DI USARE IL TAGLIERINO E DOVREMO QUINDI FARLO NOI PER LORO. SAREBBE DI ISPIRAZIONE INSERIRE ANCHE UN TAVOLO CON LA COMBINAZIONE DI POSSIBILI OGGETTI COSÌ DA DARE UNA MANO A COMINCIARE A QUELLI CHE MAGARI SI SENTONO PIU' IN DIFFICOLTÀ

Provare e osservare

IL MODO IN CUI OGNI PERSONA SI RELAZIONERÀ CON L'ATTIVITÀ SARÀ UNICO, QUINDI GUIDARLI PASSO DOPO PASSO SARÀ ANCHE DIFFICILE. LA PRIMA COSA CHE I PARTECIPANTI DOVRANNO FARE È QUELLA DI FAMIGLIARIZZARE CON I MATERIALI E SOPRATTUTTO CON LA COMBINAZIONE DI ESSI.

Non c'è giusto o sbagliato

IL MODO IN CUI OGNI PERSONA SI RELAZIONERÀ CON L'ATTIVITÀ SARÀ UNICO, QUINDI GUIDARLI PASSO DOPO PASSO SARÀ ANCHE DIFFICILE. LA PRIMA COSA CHE I PARTECIPANTI DOVRANNO FARE È QUELLA DI FAMIGLIARIZZARE CON I MATERIALI E SOPRATTUTTO CON LA COMBINAZIONE DI ESSI. INOLTRE OGNI GRUPPO PUÒ RAGIONARE COME CREDE E DECIDERE SE È MEGLIO PARTIRE DALL'INPUT QUINDI L'AVVIO, OPPURE DALLA FINE QUINDI L'OUTPUT.

Il Costruzionismo

ATTIVITÀ DI QUESTO TIPO SI BASANO SULLA TEORIA DELL'APPRENDIMENTO COSTRUTTIVISTA LA QUALE ASSERISCE CHE L'APPRENDIMENTO NON È SEMPLICE TRASMISSIONE DI CONTENUTI DALL'INSEGNANTE ALLO STUDENTE, MA SOSTIENE CHE L'APPRENDIMENTO AVVIENE IN MODO PIÙ EFFICIENTE SE CHI APPRENDE È COINVOLTO NELLA PRODUZIONE DI OGGETTI TANGIBILI. IN QUESTO SENSO IL COSTRUZIONISMO È CONNESSO ALL'APPRENDIMENTO ESPERIENZIALE E AD ALCUNE TEORIE DI JEAN PIAGET.

"La parola costruzionismo indica due aspetti della teoria della didattica delle scienze alla base di questo progetto. Dalle teorie costruttiviste in psicologia prendiamo la visione dell'apprendimento come una ricostruzione piuttosto che come una trasmissione di conoscenze. Successivamente estendiamo il concetto dei materiali manipolativi nell'idea che l'apprendimento è più efficiente quando è parte di un'attività come la costruzione di un prodotto significativo" Seymour Papert

Ok Go Sandbox

OK GO SANDBOX È UNA RISORSA SVILUPPATA DAL GRUPPO MUSICALE OK GO IN COLLABORAZIONE CON IL PLAYFUL LEARNING LAB DELL'UNIVERSITÀ ST. THOMAS (GUIDATO DA DR. ANNMARIE THOMAS). OK GO SANDBOX ASPIRA A PORTARE INSIEME IDEE DIFFERENTI, DISCIPLINE E PERSONE NELL'ESPLORARE LA CREATIVITÀ E L'APPRENDIMENTO.

This Too Shall Pass

This Too Shall Pass

GLI OK GO HANNO REALIZZATO IN QUESTO VIDEO UNA INCREDIBILE CHAIN REACTION DI RUBE GOLDBERG, MA OLTRE ALLA DIFFICOLTÀ DELLA COSTRUZIONE DELLA CHAIN REACTION HANNO AVUTO A CHE FARE ANCHE CON IL LAVORO SUL TEMPO PERCHÈ OGNI PARTE DELLA REAZIONE A CATENA È PERFETTAMENTE A TEMPO CON IL RITMO DELLA CANZONE!

Simple Machines Challenge

This Too Shall Pass

Un albo illustrato per bambini

Carte di Astrid Poot

Segreti delle tessere domino

Segreti delle tessere domino

Segreti delle tessere domino

Kym Maxwell è un'artista ed insegnante australiana che spesso lavora con i bambini per rendere interattive le sue installazioni. Lavorando con Dirk Leuschner, maker, ha creato una marble machine dove la biglia muovendosi crea movimenti e suoni differenti. Questo è un esempio di arte sonica, arte che produce suoni per il pubblico che ascolta. I suoni possono realizzati facendo uan scultura con delle parti che si muovono e vibrano, o che mettono in moto la registrazione di suoni.

Kym Maxwell e Dirk Leuschner

"Tomorrow is just another day to create something I hope will be worthwhile".- Rube Goldberg

grazie!

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Building a Chain Reaction at home can be incredibly satisfying, and a joyous celebration of invention and ingenuity; it can also be challenging at times. With a bit of support to those that are building, and the right mindset, this will be a fun exploration of cause and effect, and a rich way to find new uses for familiar materials and to spark children's imagination. Here are some tips that might help!

Getting Started

Chain Reactions offer endless possibilities for invention - literally starting from an empty slate (or kitchen table, as the case may be)! If that seems daunting, here are a few prompts that might spark initial ideas.

Inspirational and delightful objects

The best Chain Reactions have a delightful, whimsical, absurdist bent to them, and that often comes from trying to incorporate a weird, incongruous object into the contraption. Whether it's a strange wind-up or mechanical toy, a family of plastic dinosaurs, a soap-bubble wand, or a spring-loaded umbrella, figuring out how to activate these elements, or what kinds of stories they might tell, is a large part of the fun of building Chain Reactions!

Make up a story

Pick two or three objects that can be incorporated into the Chain Reaction, and make up a story about them. How can you connect that toy frog with the kitchen whisk? Is this a tale about a whipped cream-loving amphibian? What's a simple scene within this narrative that you can illustrate with a chain reaction?

Start from the finale

Every Chain Reaction benefits from a good ending, so maybe think about how you want the sequence to end, or what "goal" you want your chain reaction to accomplish: maybe it's a machine to blow out a birthday candle, or a contraption to automatically pet your dog. Then work backwards from that end goal, trying to keep a narrative thread going

Make a metaphorical machine

This is a little more elaborate, but if you become a chain reaction aficionado it will reward you richly. Pick a broad theme, like "love," "friendship," "adventure," "traveling," etc. Then everybody can spend some time writing down on slips of paper nouns, adjective, and verbs related to that theme. Love can passionate, fleeting, disappointing, big, fake, etc. Travel can be exciting, uncomfortable, scary, boring, and so forth. Once you have a good collection, you can randomly draw two or three words and build a metaphorical chain reaction machine that illustrates the specific combination you've collectively come up with!

Chain Reaction Playing Cards
We have created a special deck of playing cards to help you come up with Chain Reaction themes. It's a full 52-cards (plus two jokers!) deck, so you can play any game you like with them, and each card has a gorgeous color drawing (by our favorite illustrator Iris Gottlieb ) representing a different object. To get started, simply shuffle the deck thoroughly and pick two or three random cards. Imagine a brief story that connects these elements together. What tale do these elements want to tell? What is happening? Why? Go ahead and build that Chain Reaction!

Before you begin, it is helpful to go on a hunting trip around the house to gather materials that are likely to be useful. We suggest you look for some of the following:

Balls of various sizes and weights
One of the main moving parts of a chain reaction is rolling balls. Golf balls, tennis balls, bouncy balls, and even larger ones like soccer and basket balls often work best.

Ramps
Long pieces of material that balls and other rolling objects might slide along will be helpful to cover distances. You can make your own by saving paper towel or toilet paper cores, then cutting them lengthwise to make two half-pipe ramps. Train tracks from play sets also can work nicely, especially if you use the trains as elements of the chain reaction.

Dominoes
Even if you don't have a set of actual domino pieces, anything rectangular and with one flat side will work well. Things like: erasers, match boxes, decks of cards, books, CD jewel cases, DVD boxes, etc. Fun physics fact : you can gradually increase the size of the next domino piece, starting from a small one and gradually moving up to one of those massive encyclopedia tomes!

Other Materials for Construction

Tape
We love masking tape for its versatility and ability to stick to many surfaces, and it is easy to rip off a piece with your hands (but masking tape can leave a sticky residue if left on furniture for too long). Painters tape will not leave a residue but is also not very sticky for some tinkering purposes. Gaffers tape is more expensive, but amazing: it is very strong tape, which rips easily and cleanly with your fingers, and will not leave a residue even after days!

Cardboard
This magical material that can become almost anything you want or need it to be. Save up some flattened delivery boxes and they will serve you well for many tinkering projects!

Cutting tools
We recommend scissors, a utility knife, and X-Acto knife. Make sure you take your children's ability to use bladed tools safely into consideration, but don't be too afraid to trust them with a real tool: children don't want to get hurt, and when given real tools with real consequences they will take them seriously and learn to keep themselves safe.

Glue
Nothing beats the versatility of a hot glue gun. We recommend investing in a good quality dual-temp tool; the low setting can be helpful for younger children who might be initially intimidated by this tool, and the higher setting will be useful to make more sturdy connections. Other types of household glues will be useful: glue sticks, Elmers glue, fabric glue, etc.

Construction toys
LEGO bricks, k'nex, tinkertoys, Duplo, meccano, and more! Anything that can be joined together to form structures is great, they will be helpful to get something that is the right height, or shape, or weight, to accomplish a crucially needed function

Ways to get height
When building a chain reaction, find things that can help move a rolling ball or other object in a downwards trajectory. Starting on a table surface, then stepping down to a chair, stool, and eventually the floor is one solution, but stacks of books, boxes, and storage containers can be helpful too.

Raid your kitchen
There are so many objects in a kitchen that can find a useful purpose in a chain reaction, from big utensils like spoons, ladles, and chopsticks, to colanders, pots, lids, steamer baskets, bowls, etc. Once you start looking around with a Chain Reaction lens, you'll discover a treasure trove of elements.

Dealing with Frustration

Many examples of Chain Reactions can appear very elaborate, often requiring many attempts before they work flawlessly. Reality is simpler and less elaborate! Children often dream up ambitious ideas for a chain reaction contraption that can be challenging to complete with the materials available. Encourage them (and yourself) to start with a simple sequence - like a line of dominoes that is knocked over by a household object. Once that is working, you might decide to add more complex sections, building in front and behind what is already there. Having an early easy success will go a long way to continue engagement with the activity.

Don't be too attached to initial ideas! It is perfectly fine to change your mind mid-construction, abandon your initial goals, and pursue some new and exciting directions that might have occurred in the course of building. Flexibility is a key component of tinkering.

Chain Reactions are a celebration of the ideas, imagination, and effort of tinkerers of all ages and skill levels. When it's time to set off your contraption, we like to take a few minutes to describe what is supposed to happen before the start the whole contraption in motion. This allows builders to explain and be proud of the ideas attached to each section, rather than the outcome.

It might also be helpful to introduce the idea of a magic finger , a shame-free device with which each builder can prod along sections of the chain reaction that don't work exactly as intended. Keep a fun, encouraging, celebratory attitude and everyone will be proud of what they've made whether it works smoothly or not.

Extensions and connections

By now you might have become a fan of Chain Reactions and want to learn more about them. Here are a few connections with artists and media that have inspired us in creating the Chain Reaction tinkering activity.

Inspirational Artists

Rube Goldberg
Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. The cartoons led to the expression "Rube Goldberg machines" to describe similar gadgets and processes.

Bruno Munari
Bruno Munari was an Italian artist, designer, and inventor who contributed fundamentals to many fields of visual arts in modernism, futurism, and concrete art, and in non visual arts with his research on games, didactic method, movement, tactile learning, kinesthetic learning, and creativity. His book Munari's Machines depicted metaphorical inventions to accomplish whimsical and often surreal tasks.

Heath Robinson
William Heath Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines for achieving simple objectives.

Amazing Professional Chain Reactions

Commercials inspired by chain reactions

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Tinkering Exploration: Chain Reactions | Exploratorium

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Building a Chain Reaction at home can be incredibly satisfying, and a joyous celebration of invention and ingenuity; it can also be challenging at times. With a bit of support to those that are building, and the right mindset, this will be a fun exploration of cause and effect, and a rich way to find new uses for familiar materials and to spark children's imagination.

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Chain reaction is an intuitively simple concept, but one that allows for an incredibly complex and deep investigation into something we experience every day: the relationship between cause and effect. Chain reaction is always done as a collective contraption: each participant is given a chunk of real estate on a table onto which to build a sequence of events. The only constraint is that it has to set off the contraption built by the next participant: in the end this will result in a continuous chain reaction that goes from start to finish seamlessly, each section having been contributed by a different participant.

What are the qualities that we value in this activity?

It's a playful and inventive approach to learning about cause and effect

This is a playful and inventive way of exploring gravity, electricity, motors, circuitry, friction, acceleration, and hypothesis testing.

Ideas build on one another

By making observations about the ways in which objects behave in relationship to one another, new designs can be realized, constructed, and immediately tested.

New uses for everyday objects

Seeing common objects such as motors, ramps, toy parts, and kitchen utensils behave in surprising ways leads to unexpected experiments with, and new tests of these things.

Diverse Solutions to a Shared Theme

There are several different, individual solutions and creative designs, all sparked by each participant's interpretation of a common theme.

Collaborative Opportunities

Having to trigger the next participant's contraption, and sharing the final collective "run", are good ways for participants to contribute to the group's understanding of the activity.

Perhaps more than any other Tinkering Studio activity, this one challenges us as facilitators to follow each participant's own path of discovery and investigation. To limit the field somewhat, and spark creativity at the same time, we often center each Chain Reaction around a specific theme; these can be profound (like "love") or silly and whimsical (like "Texas"!), but importantly they provide an anchoring and starting point to start envisioning possibilities. These initial choices also inform the selection of materials that we put together to be used, and so truly impart a very different "flavor" to each event. If you've been part of a Chain Reaction build in the Tinkering Studio chances are we took a video of the "set-off" and posted it online. The best way to find it is to look here.

The Tinkering Studio organized a "love-themed" collective chain reaction at the Exploratorium's After Dark: Heartworks event. Visitors built chain reaction contraptions on section of a heart-shaped pathway, each triggering the next one. After two and a half hours of build time, the whole contraption was set off to activate a grandiose finale that brought together star-crossed lovers: a rat and his beloved rubber duckie.

We are passionate about sharing our work and developing a community of people interested in these activities, practices, and ideas. The guides below are free to download and use to help you get started with tinkering, whether it's at home, or in your school or educational institution.

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Chain reaction is an intuitively simple concept, but one that allows for an incredibly complex and deep investigation into something we experience every day: the relationship between cause and effect. Chain reaction is always done as a collective contraption: each participant is given a chunk of real estate on a table onto which to build a sequence of events.

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OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine - Official Video