As part of the preparations for our opening day in a few weeks, I’ve been sharing some of the things we’ll be trying out in the Tinkering Studio with a smaller group of explainers who will be dedicating more of their time on the floor with our group. We’ve been having weekly meetings where we alternate between engaging in activities as a learner and using our shared experience to reflect on aspects of facilitation in the TS like dealing with frustration, setting the mood, and asking the right questions. This past week we tried toy dissection together and I wanted to share some of themechanical components they discovered inside and some of the funny, creepy remixed mutant toys they created.

Liz and Delisa wasted no time decapitating their stuffed animal while keeping the wires uncut so that they could continue to explore the mechanical motions.

The table was soon covered with stuffing that had been ripped out of the various toys, yet focused work continued in each pair.

Raisa found a really complicated mechanism with six gears that controlled the flapping ears of an easter bunny.

TJ and Chris starting messing around with their dissected toy and stumbled upon the strange and interesting music made by circuit bending

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Joey worked to turn an offset motor that he found inside of his toy into the backbone of a scribbling machine.

Rose flipped her pikachu inside out and set everything back up so that the motion still worked.

We’re looking forward to trying this and other circuit activities with visitors when our space opens in a few weeks!

Lianna took the mylar light box idea to the next level by converting a cigar box into a case for the illuminated tubes (it was on the shelf for about 30 seconds before it got sold).

Inspired by experiments during our metal open:MAKE month, ryoko constructed a beautiful wire automata of a horse.

I went down more of a cardboard route and transformed a remote controlled tarantula…

…into a whiskey-toting Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer with a Santa themed controller.

We all had a really fun night and it was a trip to see what people go through on the other side of a twisted toysevent and represent the tinkering studio in this holiday making extravaganza. There were some new ideas for the next take apart toys exploration at the tinkering studio and we got inspiration for our possible future reality TV show: ‘America’s Next Top Tinkerer” or “Survivor:Tinkerers’ Island”.

The whiskey Rudolph and wire automata will be on sale at Root Division for the rest of the week, so act fast if you want one of these one-of-a-kind holiday gifts.

It’s been a bit challenging for me and others who have never taken a physics or computer science course, as it sometimes feels like learning not one but two languages at the same time. Yet it’s interesting to be going through what we hope some of the kids who come to the Tinkering Studio experience when they get a chance to experiment with electricity boards or SCRATCH in a way that’s different from how you might learn classroom setting. Ryoko and I traded excited looks when Micheal brought up a double-throw double-pull switch and it’s been fun to try to figure out how the computer code would look represented in scratch blocks.

So far we’ve gone over vocabulary terms, made an LED blink on and off, and explored some of the library of user-submitted programs. But the last class was the best and most difficult as we each took a robotic toy and tried to get the arduino to control the movements. It was a bit reminiscent of Micheal Brown‘s twisted toy workshop that we had last year in the tinkering studio. It was pretty tricky as we had to navigate using relays, transistors, and many different colored jumpers but everyone at least got something working. We have three more classes, so by the end of the semester, we should all be working hard on all kinds of crazy projects and ideas.

(left) Michael Brown
(right) original chicken

The presented videos below show the results of Mechanical Mischief: Twisted Toys workshop (held in Exploratorium, May 2010). Since we filmed all 22 creations for displaying at the Maker Faire cabinet, we would like to share them here on the blog. The original chickens (see above) were transformed into many unique creations by 22 artists. It is amazing to see the diversity of the projects! Check out the videos and see the interesting feature and motions of each project!

Also, after being exhibited at the Maker fair, they are now in the Studio Gallery at the Exploratorium. Please stop by the Studio if you would like to see the actual projects. They will be shared with the public until the end of June.

I apologize for removing the sound of the videos (the level of the background noise was too high). I just wanted to mention that some of the artists added new music to their work, but unfortunately, the music cannot be heard in these videos, sorry …!

Title: Dan Dee

Title: The Laboratory of Chickenstein
Gever’s comment: “Genius and madness are two sides of the same road.” – Chickenstotle, Greek Philosopher Commemorating the groundbreaking (though misguided) work of Dr. Chickenstein – the first chicken to prove that chicken-kind descended from the great chickensaurus. Had Dr. Chickenstein been content merely to show his completed chickensaurus skeleton rather than try to reanimate it using parts obtained illegally from a Foster Farms processing plant, he would have been remembered as a great archeologist instead of a mad scientist.

Title: Untitled

Title: Green Monster

Title: Quite a Happy Jellyfish

Title: Astro-Chick

Title: Mother

Title: Mutant Roast Chicken

Title: Michael
Chad’s comment: I was inspired to create a tribute to Michael Jackson. My goals were to run the motor both forward and reverse (so he could moonwalk), get some experience with servos (his head), add custom sound (he sings Thriller), and make his hair catch on fire with a rocket ligniter and sterno hair gel. Sadly, I couldn’t get the igniters to work, but I’m still happy with Michael. Special thanks to the Pololu Maestro servo controller for making such an easy-to-use product that provided Michael’s choreography.

Title: Miss Sam O’Nella

Title: “Toasted” Yolk

Title: Bad Egg

Title: Remote Controlled Flying Purple People Eater

Title: Chicken Sweeping Up Its Own Inside

Title: Learning to Fly

Title: Dolly

Title: Crowing Camera

Title: First Flight: The Wright Brothers had a sister

Title: Chic Lamp

Title: Crumple Skirt

Title: Sarah Palin Action Figure with Deepwater Dream Derick

Title: Seal

Artist in residence Michael Brown and the Learning Studio, at the Exploratorium will be hosting the first annual, invitation-only “Twisted Toys and Mechanical Mischief” workshop to be held on Saturday, May 8, 2010.

Twisted Toys is a “live” event: Exploratorium visitors will watch the creative projects unfold over the course of the day. In the spirit of Project Runway, we’ll videotape the workshop and capture each artist describing their toy-inspired vision and process. Michael Brown will play the helpful host (a là Tim Gunn), interviewing artists and offering guidance with the toys’ mechanisms, as well as other general assistance.

23 creative individuals will take part in a day-long process of reinvention and reinterpretation. Each participant will begin with one of 23 identical, battery-operated toys. They will spend the next six hours using their favorite tools, a handful of pre-chosen supplies, and all of their skills and imagination to transform their toy into something special. At the end of the day, we’ll demonstrate how 23 people can remake the same object into a variety of creations.

The finished works will be displayed at Maker Faire, May 22 and 23, and return to the Exploratorium’s Studio gallery through June.

Meet our fabulous Toy Twisters!

Amy Franceschini www.futurefarmers.com Amy is an artist and educator who uses various media to encourage formats of exchange and production, many times in collaboration with other practitioners. An overarching theme in her work is a perceived conflict between humans and nature.	Andrew Lyndon Catblack Sea Andrew Lyndon is a Bay Area artist who makes video, freelance multimedia work, video theater sets, and narrative films. He teaches animation and film at California College of the arts in Oakland, CA.
Asia Ward mnartists.org Asia Ward is a Minnesota based kinetic sculpture artist. Currently Asia is the Education Coordinator and Resident Artist of the Learning Technologies Center at the Science Museum of Minnesota.	Bernie Lubell bernielubell.com My low tech interactive installations are concerned with how we see ourselves in the machines we make.
Carina C. Zona cczona.com I frequently take inspiration from long-exposure photography, in which time reveals hidden truths and unexpected patterns while neatly eliminating that which is merely trivial. Whereas crochet is a favorite crafting indulgence because it’s so forgiving: unlimited undo, and so wonderfully stretchy!	Chad Lester Chad’s father was an engineer and his mother was an art teacher and he ended up as a twisted mix of the two. Semi-retired from a career in computer science with a history of large scale distributed computing problems, he now volunteers at the exploratorium and loves to tinker with wood, metal, fire and digital circuits (oh and did I mention fire?).
Christopher S. I am a middle school student in Palo Alto. I used to be big on Lego Technics, but now really enjoy re-making old computers and getting them to work.	Daniela Steinsapir www.danielast.com Daniela creates experimental art pieces as a means of engaging with the relationship between mass production, technology, and the psychological state of society. In her work she re-employ’s seemingly out-moded forms of mass production in new and different ways.
David Cole David runs a business making jewelry and metal artwork, teaches classes at the California College of the Arts and plays with old machines at his studio in Oakland. He collects mechanical objects and wants one of everything.	Gever Tulley Tinkering School 50 dangerous things Founder of Tinkering School, co-author of Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do), and defender of children’s right to waste time fooling around.
Grace Kim iamgracie.com I embroider, knit, and sew circuits. I am inspired by old craft books and tape races.	Jessica Strick While most exhibit developers at Exploratorium have either an art or a science background, Jessica proudly stands by her history degree as a testament to the triumph of curiosity and a desire to make things overcoming the expectations of a formal education. The Exploratorium’s workshop, full of its odds and ends, is a never-ending source of inspiration.
Karen Christensen Etsy My name is Karen Christensen and I make softies as often as I can. My inspiration comes from everyday life, yetis and other things that make me laugh.	Kelly Oliver Kelly is a mischief and mayhem seeker that enjoy making things pretty. P.S. she is really mad at Michael Swaine.
Melisio Nunez I work and live in San Francisco CA. Since I was a little kid I have always enjoyed making things with my hands, so I guess this is not going to stop anytime soon.	Michael Swaine Future Farmers Weed Walk Michael Swaine is building the Free Mending Library in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, it is a library for fixing the holes in our lives. Michael has been an analog designer with Futurefarmers and walks the city cracks with Arcangelow Wessells as he pleads for tenderness in all moments of life.
Nicole Catrett nicolecatrett.com Nicole Catrett makes delightful contraptions large and small at the Exploratorium.	Stijn Schiffeleers Boutique Vizique Working in many media, I try to reveal the subtleties of life via works on paper, video and interactive installations. My art work embodies a sense of play and sensitivity that reminds us to take a closer look at what surrounds us.
Tan Siri Enjoys finding the minimalist, less-is-more nature of objects and environments and playing with possibilities of loss and found treasures!	Thom Story I make art, in whatever form, because I have to. Sculpture, painting, clothes…it’s all about the dialogue with the unknowable.
Tim Hunkin timhunkin.com For the last ten years, Tim has been obsessed with his Under the Pier Show amusement arcade on Southwold pier, when not distracted by building enormous clocks.	Tom Corboline I am a systems engineer primarily working with High-powered lasers in the semiconductor industry. Working in a high-tech field inspires me to be creative with technology in my own DIY projects.
Walter Kitundu kitundu.com Walter Kitundu is an instrument builder, musician, and bird photographer who works as an artist at the Exploratorium.