Tensegrity Structure Robots: Day 2 - Abstract Art

Today was the second day.  We built our structures last time so now it was time to add motion.  We hooked up some small motors run by coin batteries and then added pen and paper to create art!

Papercraft & Photoshop: Day 4 - The Final Countdown

Today was the last day of our Papercraft and Photography class. The kids made their own paper models, took pictures and then Photoshopped them.  Check them out, they look great!

Illinois Veterans' History Project

The Elmwood Park Public Library in association with Project Next Generation and the State Library of Illinois are proud to present an interview of United States Air Force veteran Dennis J. Wolfe, conducted by Magnus Shipinski.  This video was shot by Christian Caballero and edited by Magnus Shipinski.  Special thanks to Jay Shipinski for help with coordination and making things happen.

This interview has been sent to the State Library of Illinois for inclusion in the Illinois Digital Archive.

Thank you very much to Mr. Wolfe, Magnus, Jay and Christian for making this happen.

Click here for more information on the Illinois Veterans' History Project and to view more interviews with Illinois veterans be sure to check out the Illinois Veterans' History Project YouTube channel.

Tensegrity Structure Robots: Day 1 - They're not really robots, huh...

Tensegrity Structures?  Robots?  Icosahedrons?

Ok, let me break it down for you.  First of all, you're right.  They're not really robots.  That was just kind of my cheap attempt to get you in the door.

They ARE tensegrity structures.  Tensegrity structures?  Tensional integrity a.k.a. floating compression is an architectural term that describes a structure that stays together by having each piece push or pull on another piece.

Icosahedrons are a type of polyhedron that has 20 sides.

So today we made a tensegrity structure that has 20 sides.  Next time, we're going to try hooking up a motor and adding some motion in hopes of being able to call these robots... even though that's a bit of stretch, it'll still be cool.

Papercraft & Photography: Day 3 - She's Crafty

Today is Day 3 of Papercraft & Photography.  The kids are finally finishing up their papercraft models and taking pictures.  A select few have even started to work in Adobe Photoshop to remove the backgrounds of their pictures and place their subjects in some bizarre and crazy backgrounds!

Papercraft & Photography - Day 2

We slowly started finishing up our designs today. We had to be a lot more precise today, paying more attention to small folds and whatnot. We finished a couple designs and got started on the Photoshoping process.

No Cube Left Behind: Papercraft & Photography - Day 1

Who doesn't like an awesome craft? Everyone had the chance to to print out the character of their choice and make them come to life by turning the 2D paper into a 3D Cubecraft. On Thursday, we put these 3D crafts into Photoshop and add backgrounds or whatever else we want!

TinkerCAD - Day 4

Today is the day. Everyone added the finishing touches to their designs and got them ready to be printed. We have a very diverse set of objects this time around, aside from all the fidget spinners.

We're all excited to see how they turn out!

TinkerCAD - Day 3

We continued our designs today and even completed some! Stay tuned for our completed designs on Thursday

Father's Day Cards - Day 1

Father's Day is right around the corner! What better way to celebrate it that by giving our awesome dads than by making them a homemade Star Wars cards. This project consists of making a light saberout of LEDs and straws. The results turned out awesome!

TinkerCAD - Day 2

The 3D printing grind continued today. We kept using the skills learned in the lessons and made some creative designs. We have people making fidget spinners, jewlery holders, instruments, cookie cutters, and pandas!

Next week, we will continue adding to these designs and if we're quick, start a new design. Stay tuned...

Mixcraft - Day 2 (MidKids)

Today was the last day to finish our songs! We added some cool instruments and made some complex rhythmns to form some, purposfully or not, avant-garde songs. These are the results!

Our next session is a Father's Day class so stay tuned!

TinkerCAD - Day 1

We're bringing back PNG for the summer! Everyone got a quick refresher on how TinkerCAD works and got to making their own designs. 

We now have a good starting point to our designs and will hopefully complete them by next week!

Mixcraft - Day 1 (MidKids)

Mixcraft is back! We are continuing our summer session by letting out some creativity which will hopefully result in some awesome tunes.

Hour of Code!

As the first class of the summer, we had a pretty laid back session today. We coded in a nice, air-conditioned room, some using Code.org, others using Khanacademy.org.

This was a great class to kick of the summer and we have a lot more in store!