Ecsite is a large gathering of academics and professionals from informal education and museums around the world. We went to take part in an event set up by Sebastian Martin of the Exploratorium's Tinkering Studio, called 'Computational Tinkering'.
This event would include 3 different activities, which considered how computation - whether in the form of actual coding and digital manipulation or that of mathematical reasoning and intuition - could be used within tinkering exercises and projects.
We decided to use fabric bowls as the basis for our workshop, and also introduced 'snap curves' for the first time to a workshop environment. It was also a chance to show a couple of programs we'd been working on, using the CAD software packages Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, which would enable people to more easily get into creating their own curves and shapes, and introduce them to digital manufacturing.
The workshop itself was really fun and successful, and gave us a lot of insights into how people feel about the projects, and the potential for taking them further. The whole event was eye opening in terms of finding out about all the informal science and maths education practices and ongoing projects which are currently taking place.
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