Contributing to Shared Projects - WICO Summer 2019 5.2

Over the course of week five of the WICO summer camp we worked on ways to create opportunities for campers to contribute to something larger than their individual projects. Starting from the initial experiences where people create wind-up art machines on the table and printing out a sheet of tattoos or stickers, contributing to something larger than individual projects helps to build engagement and motivation for the workshops.

During the course of the week we set up a few compelling moments where the idea of being part of a larger project takes center stage.

In the chain reaction and the light play installations, campers physically add a unique element into a connected chain reaction or giant array of light and shadow boxes.

Here’s the video of the chain reaction from the week with all of the amazing mechanisms, carefully constructed engineering solutions and imaginative use of materials.

Here’s the video of the light play wall full of light/shadow vignettes that tell compelling stories and express a wide variety of feelings and emotions.

These moments are super important because they help establish some of the core tinkering learning values of sharing ideas across projects, collaborating with peers and developing motivation for exhibitions not competitions. The initial workshops that delve into these concepts become even more important when we move into the end of week computational projects.