I just got a note from Mitchel Resnick about Shree Nayar, "who is a professor at Columbia University, Shree Nayar, is working on a new project to engage kids in photography (and learn about optics/physics of photography). It includes a kit for putting together your own camera, and an online community for sharing photos. See www.bigshotcamera.org" 

Going all the way back to our Youth Computer Center (the YCC) at our old Science Museum building, alumni Natalie, Mike and Karen found the perfect way to outfit a new lab dedicated to exploring art and science through classic and emerging technology... "real" office chairs. Perfect for spinning 360's ( but not by students and not during classes...)

After a long and wonderful life, LTC has retired our set of lab chairs...

Some went to staff and will continue their supportive lives and the rest to be recycled...

Projects are starting to come together. The whole group has a lot of questions that Clement and i can't answer immediately. Janaki, Mirjam and Laura powered three lilypads of one AAA battery pack, two LED on each. We tried a button but had trouble with it. I am getting a feel for the kind of documentation to share. How many LED are possibleand  off what amount of power.Everyone still excited. Planning on continuing a once a month drop in.

Last night I tried to use some photos I took using SAM Animation into Scratch to make an interactive animation. I am pretty happy with how the program turned out (there are a few things that are a little off, but the animations look alright). But, I was unable to get the project loaded on the scratch site. It gives me a thumbnail and you can download the project and it works, but it won't load in the flash player on the site. Has anyone run into it before?

Day 2 of High Fashion  particpants saw examples of building the Lilypad into garments, programing multiple petals to control lights, fading from the pb petals and programing a light sensor. Now that everyone has their own materials and spools of conductive thread the projects are beginging to ferment.

"Michelle Khine, 32
University of California, Irvine
A children’s toy inspires a cheap, easy production method for high-tech diagnostic chips"

http://www.technologyreview.com/TR35/Profile.aspx?Cand=T&TRID=764

Found this on BoingBoing.

3M is hosting a Scotch Tape Sculpture contest; the grand prize is $5000!

Entries are due Feb 28th, 2010.

This fits into a bigger conversation I'd like to have with 3M; can their ongoing support of engineering in St. Paul Public Schools also included a focus on the arts? I think that they should have artist residencies on their St. Paul campus.

The artists would work to repurpose 3M's diverse array of products into new creations. This would be powerful, not only as an act of publicity (like this contest), but also as a means of inspiration for the public and 3M's employees.

Here is a great article on "teaching" (for lack of a better word) Processing to young kids. It's not necessarily convincing, especially with Scratch around, but it makes me want to finally try bringing Processing to our youth programming work:

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/11/teaching-kids-programmers/

image created in Processing by Nik Rowell

SMILE (a pathway in the National Science Digital Library)

www.howtosmile.org

IDEA Cooperative on Ice!

Kristen P writes:

Hey everyone!
Check out the fun new project Design Team will be working on this winter! 
(scroll down to IDEA shanty)
http://www.artshantyprojects.org/artists

IDEA Shanty