We completed construction on our table this past week, and debuted it at the museum for a focus group and general use demo! We set up a camera in the project room to document the process, and Anisha compiled about a weeks worth of construction into 30 seconds worth of great footage. Pay attention to the camera for a funny lesson in why transitioning to proper hardware is a wise choice.
We started filming for our promotional videos, and sat on the team everyone down to ask questions about the project and the space we are working in. There were lot of interesting responses that give a lot more insight into who we are. The questions led to some great reflections on why we think the project is important, and some interesting perspectives regarding digital making. Unfortunately, not all of this will make it into the promotional video, so we wanted to share a bit more about why we are working so hard for this project.
(I’ll give you a hint…It’s the kids 
)
We are restructuring the website a bit to include a learning corner page. Our exhibit will exist as part of the greater whole that is Makeshop, and provide an entry point into the wide world of programming. As such, we wanted to share a bit about the technology that makes this experience go, as well as provide pointers to learning resources that expand upon the basic principles we are trying to teach.
Please bear with us as we get that corner of our site up and going.
For those that missed our halves presentation, here is the recording.
Our biggest critique from the presentation was the lack of details regarding our interactive table. The presentation was given on Friday, and the decision to move forward with the table and re-scope other parts of the project came that Wednesday. The only detail we knew was that the web camera would be detecting from underneath instead of overhead, as in our previous arrangement.
Since then, we have had a couple of meetings to work out the look and feel of the table with the museum. The biggest challenge we have had is getting the table down to a workable height that is approachable for the children. Through the use of a mirror, we have been able to create a table that is just over 24″. The museum felt that the table would look better with the walls made out of birch rather than sheet metal, and we have opted for rubber feet in lieu of wheels.
Renders and assembly photos on the way!
It has been awhile since we have shared art assets, and we would like to introduce you to some new friends that we have added to the family. Ariel and Anisha have created a fantastic family of familiar and whimsical creatures for the children to play with.
We have agreed with Makeshop on delivering three unique backgrounds, including a jungle, a park, and an underwater scene. Joo has finished the park and underwater scenes, and is currently polishing the jungle. Joo, Star, and Vera are also working on adding easter eggs to the backgrounds for surprising interactives for the children to discover! More on these shortly.
Hi everyone,
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? But in the time we haven’t been posting, we’ve been busily working away on the project. We’ve been working through four different block designs and I’m proud to announce we have our final block design finished! They’re going to be cut using the CNC router in the Drama department quite soon, and we’re really excited to see them be realized. I’m pleased to share a few design images with you all below:
We have five different kinds of blocks: Object, Size, Animation, and Color. The size and color blocks are rotational, meaning that depending on their rotation relative to the object block, they change the size and color of the object. Each of the blocks allow two object blocks to be linked together, which helps children learn the concept of “and” and “or,” and how to edit the attributes of two different objects.
We’re also really excited about the “Variable” block we have been developing. It functions as a tray that takes an attribute, object, or combination of them, and maps to the variable tokens that can be placed around the play area. Each of the tokens will reflect exactly what is inside the variable tray. This way, children can learn about how a global variable works in a computer program, and at the same time, reduces clutter on the board! So if a user wants to have four red octopuses that are all waving, they can, and can change all those octopuses to different colors, sizes, and animations in one go.
We’ll definitely keep posting with photos as they’re being fabricated and throughout our finishing process, and some more photos and videos of them in action once our surface table is built! We’ll post more about the surface table developments and how it works in the space as well.
Thanks for reading!
During spring break, we had our 4th playtest. Below are some of the notes we took that day.
1. Children enjoyed playing with the background block
2. Placing the table in front of the screen helped children focus on the screen
3. Children still didn’t understand where they have to place blocks
4. Children kept covering the markers to move the blocks
5. Some children still had a hard time figuring out how to arrange blocks
On March 8th we had our 3rd playtest, but since it was GDC week we didn’t have enough hands to record. However, it was a very meaningful time to get lots of useful feedback from the visiting scholars and professionals who were visiting the museum that day. The development from the 2nd playtest to the 3rd one involved changing the material and shape of blocks (wooden blocks!) and the implementation of new function blocks: background and size. These enabled people to be engaged in this experience more.
Below is the 3rd playtest notes:
1. Play testers figured out how to change the background well and showed higher interests (because of showing drastic visual change)
2. Play testers liked the visual on the screen as well as the block design
3. Play testers still had a hard time arranging without templates
4. Play testers asked about the principle of the installation
5. Play testers asked us to think about more context around the installation
6. Play testers suggested to add more detail to the symbol on the block (ex, alien wearing a snorkel)
7. Play testers suggested the wheel figure for the size block to let size change more precisely
We had our 2nd playtest on March 1st! It was windy and rainy.
The biggest change from the 1st to 2nd playtest was we removed the “show me” block which had a compiling function and developed the system to show what guests were making in real-time.
