Picnic time

                                     

It's time for a feast at invention squad!This week, we asked our students to design a transportable food system for an outdoor picnic. This industrial design challenge may seem pedestrian at first sight- especially for those of us who have to scrape leftovers from a school lunchbox every evening. You might think that a picnic basket is just a box with a handle, but in the hands of a set of eager kid inventors there are many interesting possibilities for innovation.

How to make it easy to transport? Could it be eco-friendly? How could we adapt it for special types of food? Could it be multifunctional? Is my lunchbox for a special user? This is a prototype for a future lunchbox. It comes with a remote control, which allows food selection and pops up the appropriate food receptacles on extendable platforms as they are selected. The whole box is mounted on wheels for transportability. 

This picnic hamper includes a music player and has a handsome leather lining! 

This is a portable BBQ unit for picnics.  It includes a removable heating unit (with a solar cell connection), a food storage area, roasting sticks and a carrying strap.

This invention is a feeder for a small monkey. It explores the idea that pets and zoo animals need more stimulation and giving them their food in a climbing nook will make dinnertime into a bit of a game. Old toy parts are remixed to create a colourful playful design with lots of receptacles for snacks.

This design is for outdoor adventurers. The lunch canister is light and straps to the head or the body to leave hands free for climbing and trekking. This inventor considered the portability factor. Nice job!

Fall Feast

It's picnic time at invention squad!

This week, we asked our students to design a transportable food system for an outdoor picnic. This industrial design challenge may seem pedestrian at first sight- especially for those of us who have to scrape leftovers from a school lunchbox every evening. You might think that a picnic basket is just a box with a handle, but in the hands of a set of eager kid inventors there are many interesting possibilities for innovation.

How to make it easy to transport? Could it be eco-friendly? How could we adapt it for special types of food? Could it be multifunctional? The prototypes ranged from wild : a water delivery mechanism with personal waterfalls to serve food on boats to each picnicker) to pragmatic: a dipping tub for fries with personal lidded sauce containers (above).

Sometimes the picnic carriers were specially designed for a particular food: take this subway baguette carrier made by one team.

Or this sandwich holder- which looks as stylish as a brief case.

Each picnicker gers a personal noodle pod (sealed with a clip). This design demonstrated a clever use of materials and emphasized the modular nature of picnics.

Some of our inventors combined functionality with visual impact. This team's sandwich holder had two interlocking layers creating many different compartments and a very unified aesthetic.

This young designer did a great job making many different receptacles for different food items and we like the washable face on the food tray which adds a playful element to a kids' picnic.

Some designers considered portability and opted to add wheels to their prototypes to create pull along picnic carriers.

…..and if all else fails why not turn your picnic basket into a potential animal trap for the ultimate BBQ?

Rainy Daze

 In our second class at Artscape, we consider whether the umbrella needs reinventing. We've all had an uncomfortable encounter with an umbrella. Whether it's the classic inside out one in a wind squall or colliding with a passerby on a crowded sidewalk or just the damp soggy dripping mass after the rain. And could the umbrella just be more fun or do more?

Sometimes invention is about adapting a pre-existing design. Quite a few attempts have been made to innovate and beautify the umbrella. Here are our attempts. Some of our students wanted to see more clearly when walking with the umbrella. In this design a whole segment of the umbrella is replaced with clear material.

This design improved the underside of the umbrella by adding animated video game characters.

This defensive umbrella included a slingshot and ammo basket on the underside.

This designer considered functionality by adding a backpack shield and later a hanging storage unit and  removable front visor screen. Nice job!

This umbrella will extend above the crowd with a seussical candy-striped handle.

Two of our inventors, decided to turn the umbrella into a water collector. Tubes were connected to the top surface and the water drips down into a drinking cup attached to the handle. In one case there is also a filter unit. 

And here's a space like poncho design for those sudden downpours.

Make something awesome: Fall 2015 after-school sessions

A 9 week session is starting up on Mondays at Artscape Youngplace. There will be a pick up at Givins Shaw school. Students from other schools are welcome to join us at Artscape. 

Here's our new schedule:

Week 1 (Sept. 28th): "Moving Words"
Make a kinetic sculpture that's also a sign.

Week 2 (Oct. 5th): "Rainy Daze"
Improve on umbrella design: make it cooler, drier, more eco-friendly.

Week 3 (Oct. 19th): "Picnic Party" 
Plan the perfect outdoor feast.

Week 4 (Oct. 26th): "Spooktacular Light Show" 
Scare your friends by creating a ghostly chandelier, a haunted light sculpture or an illuminated decoration for Halloween.

Week 5 (Nov 2nd): "Come up to our room" 
Build furniture for a fabulous hangout for kids.

Week 6 (Nov 9th): "A design for good and evil"
Make one outfit that morphs from a dream to a nightmare. 

Week 7 (Nov. 16th): "Blind Store"
Experience shopping without sight then reimagine the grocery store.

Week 8 (Nov. 23rd): "Help! We've got chores" 
Build a device that can tidy your room.

Week 9 (Nov. 30th): "Mission Possible" 
Create a secret zipline drop for spies.

Pickup device

This week we tackle an every day problem: how could we make carrying multiple grocery bags an easier task? More specifically, how do we stop the bags snarling up together and digging into our skin? Is there a better way to distribute the weight? Could we take some of the load off our hands? How could we make the task altogether more fun?

This hand held device nicely distributed the load of four bags around a good firm carrying handle. Clips were used to secure the bags.

This is the start of a backpack carrier, with lots of firmly secured clips and hooks for the grocery bags.

This hands-free solution is attached around the waist.

Designer testing revealed that it might be useful to leave the buckles flexible (rather than rigid) to allow the user to "squeeze through small spaces".  Good thought. Might want to modify further to prevent the bags from slipping off the rods?

Several of our students decided to update the granny cart and used wheels on their carriers. 

This pickup device is a travelling robot carrier. 

Forget about the bags! What about the bugs? It's time they went for a ride. In this ant transportation system, a whole nest of ants can explore the zig-zag tunnels whilst on the move. Next step adding wheels and a motor…

This design is a carrier with retractable hooks. This inventor went one step further. The carrier can be attached to the wall and the hooks hang down whilst you unpack your groceries. Once done, the hook is mechanically pulled up (she prototyped this with a accordion string design) and pegged flat against the wall.  We liked the multistep thinking here.

Lunchbox!

One of our workshops this week was about form and function. We posed the question: is it time to redesign the school lunchbox?

Could it be easier to transport? Could it be more eco-friendly? Could it be adapted for other types of food? Could it be multifunctional?

This industrial design challenge may seem pedestrian at first sight- especially for those of us who have to scrape leftovers from a school lunchbox every evening. You might think that a lunchbox is just a box with a handle, but in the hands of a set of eager kid inventors there are many interesting possibilities for lunchbox innovation.

Consider the eco-lunchbox. It comes with a lidded rain-catcher (in case you forgot to fill your water bottle) and in sunny conditions you can use the solar panel for re-heating food. In another design, the students felt that lunch was sometimes too heavy to carry. What about a food buggy. It has a colourful cupcake holder (6 slots, so you can bring cakes for all your friends), a flexible sandwich pouch, a snap clipped rain cover and has a robust frame and wheels for street transport.

In some of the designs, the lunchbox was transformed into something else: a racing car (with a zipped closure) or a table with mounted plate to eat on or an extra pouch for a friendly lunch buddy.

At the end of the session, we had demo time. This is a chance for our students to show their designs and get some great feedback from their friends. They did an excellent job of describing their creations!