Join Wonderful Idea co-founder Ryan Jenkins and friends for two hands on tinkering workshops at the FabLearn flagship conference in New York.

Eco-Friendly Circuits & Computational Tinkering with Angela Sofia Lombardo on Saturday 3/9 at 4:40pm

Join this workshop to explore a set of circuit-based components that go beyond ‘batteries and bulbs’ to focus on elements related to ‘green energy’ like hand crank generators, wind powered turbines and solar panels. Connect “green energy” generators to the analog pins of Micro:bit and create all sort of interactive projects using produced energy values through an experimental extension of Scratch 3.0.Develop a better sense of the frustration, joy and questions that their students go through during the tinkering process. That’s the most playful, hands-on and creative way to discover who much energy a green generator can produce!

Reuse/Remix/Rethink: Exploring Mechanical Toys with Christa Flores and Joel Gordon on Sunday 3/10 at 8:30am

In this hands-on workshop, participants will carefully dissect used mechanical toys and explore innovative ways learners of all ages can extend circuit and mechanism explorations using both analog materials and digital tools. This workshop will give participants ideas for how to use recycled materials in makerspaces and classrooms to support tinkering with science, art and creative coding. We’ll share practical tips on how to find and organize materials, share parts and tools lists and host a reflective discussion about how this type of workshop can contribute to a financially and environmentally sustainable making program.