Monthly Archives: January 2009
31Jan/092 comments
Chain reaction finale
Posted by Luigi
On the second day of working on their chain reaction machine (and the last day of building workshops!) we switched session, so that instead of the morning, we had the whole afternoon. We could hardly contain our excitement for what … Continue reading
28Jan/094 comments
Chain Reaction contraption
Posted by Luigi
We (Karen, Mike, and Luigi) explored cause and effect today as we started a two-day build of a metaphorical chain reaction. Using Bruno Munari’s drawings as inspiration (including his drawing of a machine for sniffing artificial flowers), we organized the … Continue reading
Tagged as: chain reaction, contraption, india, monks, photos, sarnath, Workshop
28Jan/094 comments
Reflection contraptions
Posted by Luigi
“Failure is the pillar of success” - Tibetan proverb The next day we set the monks onto their next challenge: to construct a machine, or a kinetic contraption of some kind, based on some … Continue reading
Tagged as: building, contraptions, Gallery, india, light exploration, machines, monks, mylar, photos, reflections, sarnath
26Jan/095 comments
Mylar reflections
Posted by Luigi
Yesterday we started our exploration of light, reflection, and caustics, looking through an “aesthetic” lens. We started by asking the monks to place a small mirror on the wall, and stand to one side (away from the wall) with a … Continue reading
Tagged as: india, light exploration, mirrors, monks, mylar, photos, reflection, sarnath
24Jan/095 comments
The Ganga and the ghats
Posted by Luigi
We had been wanting to see Varanasi since our brief transit through its outskirts on the way to the Institute from the airport. One afternoon, finding ourselves free, we decided to take the plunge and go into town. Asking someone … Continue reading
24Jan/094 comments
Thoughts on a design-based activity
Posted by Luigi
One of our goals for presenting the automata activity was to encourage the workshop participants to construct their own understanding about mechanisms by first observing motion machine models, then discussing their ideas about the ways they worked, and ultimately, building … Continue reading
22Jan/092 comments
Cardboard automata workshop
Posted by Luigi
We started the first workshop by giving the monks a challenge: we divided them into groups of 6, and gave them an example of cardboard automata movement, but we covered up the mechanism that made that movement possible. We instructed … Continue reading
20Jan/09No comments
Auspicious beginnings
Posted by Luigi
Having survived our first night in India outside of the safe and familiar confines of a western-style hotel, yesterday marked the official beginning of the workshops. After the communal breakfast (and all meals are, indeed, communal) Geshe Lhakdor lead the … Continue reading
20Jan/091 comment
Flavors of Sarnath
Posted by Luigi
After a rather gruelling trip, we are finally in Sarnath! We spent a total of about 30 hours either on a plane or sitting in an airport, with a brief but pleasant few hours of sleep in Delhi in between. … Continue reading
14Jan/092 comments
Destination: Sarnath
Posted by Luigi
View Larger Map Since we are going to be in Sarnath for almost two weeks, here are a few tidbits about this town. Sarnath is located about 12 km (7.5 miles) from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi. Sarnath itself … Continue reading
