Collaborative Roller
Coaster Sculpture
Ages 9 - 14
Fridays, February 22, 29, March
7, 14
Hours: 1 pm - 3:30 pm
Instructor: Aaron Geman
Fee: $165 (includes materials)
CA State Standards: Grade 2, Physical Sciences 1 a.-f.; Grade 3, Measurement,
1.1, Grade 9-12 Physics Motion and Forces 1 a.-d.
Other benefits: Design, tools
use, team work, leadership skills, collaboration, tinkering and fun. (Fun counts too, right?)
Course Description:
Explore the world of kinetic sculpture
and tinkering! In this hands-on project, kids use their creativity and ingenuity
to create a large rolling-ball sculpture under the guidance of kinetic sculpture artist and tinker, Aaron Geman. Children work in pairs, individually or in small groups to design and construct their piece of the sculpture;
a diorama-style box with an open top and a plexiglass front connected by a network of tubes.
There will be two input tubes at the top of the box where balls will enter. The
bottom of the box will have two output tubes, through which the ball will exit. Using
glue guns, ordinary household items and recycled treasures, each child creates a path from their input tubes to their output
tubes. The sculpture contains of a web of tracks connecting the boxes and allowing
the balls to roll through and down the sculpture. When balls reach the bottom,
an elevator, operated by a hand crank will bring them back to the top.
The end result of this workshop will
be a functioning marble machine. The machine will consist of 9 diorama-style
boxes. Teams of one or two will work together to fill one of the boxes with marble
tracks. A pre-constructed frame will have a mount for each box, pipes connecting
them together, and a crank-operated marble elevator. Similar childhood projects
became a life-long love for mechanical creations with instructor Aaron Geman. He
conceived this workshop to afford that same opportunity to participants.
Instructor, Aaron Geman
Aaron is a mechanical sculptor in Oakland. He studied computer science at Brown
University, but is on indefinite leave as he explores an alternative
path as an artist. He landed in the Bay after driving across the country to present
a mechanical puzzle/kinetic sculpture to Google. (Visit www.TinkerThink.net for
more information about that project). He currently works at Ferrous Studios (www.FerrousInc.com)
as a metal fabricator.
