Spring Remixes and Iterations
Spring is in the air and I wanted to share some tinkering remixes, new environments and upcoming events that have been inspiring me lately with the changing of the season. Some of them show the long tail of tinkering prototypes and others point the way to the kind of environments and events that I hope to create in the future here in Freiburg. I hope to watch as these ideas continue to grow and bloom over time.
First off, I was really happy to see that the team at the Montshire Museum in Vermont got inspired by the roly-poly rollers that I’ve been working on with Nicole Catrett (more on her exciting new project later). The team at the museum took the idea to an After Dark event and they reported back “a lot of happy tinkerers, some who stayed for well over an hour and made their own "wheels" with cardboard and brads”. I liked how they added the element of making your own wheels using cardboard and 3D printed mounts.
Through their feedback, I learned new things about the construction and saw new possibilities for materials and prompts for this explorations. It was also really interesting to see how a interaction that I originally designed for young learners age 3-5 also worked well for adults in an after dark style atmosphere. The great thing about these types of explorations is that they defy age limits or expectations as each learner takes their own experience to the project.
It was also fun to see that my friends and colleagues at the Exploratorium’s Tinkering Studio have continued working on some of the TIPs (or UFTE) projects from our collaboration with the LEGO Playful Museum Learning Network. I really enjoyed seeing the physical material exhibit of "Shadow Creatures” or shadow remix in the museum as part of the Light Play Studio. Our goal for that project was to create tinkerable experiences that could be un-facilitated (or lightly facilitated) so it’s great to see it functioning in that context. And the “what’s hidden in the shadow” station shows how a quick and elegant experiment done originally for our own enjoyment can be translated to something that visitors can also explore.
Another colleague that I have been tinkering with over many years is Kim Ludwig-Petsch who just started a pop-up science center called Curiocity in his hometown of Freising near Munich. Recently I had a virtual tour of the space and was really impressed by the extensive collection of scrounged and home built exhibits, the central location and the team’s passion of the project. I’m hoping to get a chance to visit the space soon and get more inspiration for what can be possible here in Freiburg.
And one more really inspiring pop up workshop for tinkering has recently been created by none other than WICO co-founder Nicole Catrett. She has been putting together a participatory art space called Artschmart in El Cerrito with inspiring creations, open activities and many ways for the community to get involved. I'm really inspired by her first program, a mailbox art show, where anyone can submit art directly in the mailslot or by post. Then the works get displayed proudly on the front window. It’s such an ingenious way to demonstrate the idea that it’s not about the things inside the space but what each person brings to the experience.
The larger space is slowly getting populated with many of Nicole’s whimsical and delightful creations and I’m super excited to see how the Artschmart develops over time. She started a substack page to share updates and I would encourage everyone to check it out!
And finally for one more timely announcement of an tinkering event, the tickets for the 2027 edition of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre’s Automatafest goes on sale Tuesday April 28th!
Automatafest is “three-day opportunity for makers, collectors, enthusiasts, and the simply curious to experience the vibrant UK automata scene. Learn from leading automatists, meet fellow enthusiasts, and view some of the finest contemporary automata in action.” I will be there along with others like Paul Spooner, Tim Hunkin, Michael & Maria Start, Loulou Cousin, Oliver Pett, Henrietta Boex, Mike Petrich & Karen Wilkinson.
Last year Loulou Cousin, Steve Guy and I set up interactive workshops to encourage everyone to also make automata during the event. We’re planning even bigger and bolder experiments for the next iteration of the festival. As well I’m hoping to share learnings from our popular and inspiring online Automata Global Tinkering Workshop that started during the pandemic and has incredibly continued on strong with the thirteenth version launching this fall.