When I started working at the Field Museum (one of my first "real" jobs after college), I was terrified. Although technically I had all of the required skills, in that moment I felt like I had no clue how to do a single thing. Sure I had been making objects for most of my life, but this was different. In this job I wasn't building tables and chairs, I was making "interactives". I was building air pumps that approximated the vocalizations of a Parasaurolophus dinosaur. I was figuring out how to make gears and belts simulate the feeling of grinding corn on a stone. I was wiring maps to microcontrollers. . . and I had no idea where to start. I felt so guilty for having to ask so many questions that I spent most of my first day apologizing. Then my boss turned to me (most likely having seen my floundering) and said " you know Sarah, nobody knows how to do this job, you'll figure it out". And that was it. Fear: gone.
Building prototypes is a great project to do with kids. Since there are no blueprints, no one knows how to begin and they are free to figure it out for themselves. . .
. . . they are free to play with materials. . .
. . . and procedures. . .
. . . to test every space and application. . .
. . . until they find. . .
{prototype for a lamp mobile}
. . . the perfect fit.
What will you make this weekend?
~ Sarah
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*Last time in Crafts and Activities: In Love
