KIDmob recently partnered with the XTech team to co-create another fun-filled workshop intensive. XTech defined their community need: a redesign of the existing outreach exhibitions deployed at various partner communities. Currently, a series of activities exploring concepts like gravity or the color of pigment are taken to sites such as The Boys and Girls Club and the UCSF children's patient rooms. These activities, and how they break down, expand, transport, and are interfaced, became the design challenge focus. Dubbing our workshop "Deployable Structures," we spent three days facilitating student teams through the design process for our in-house 'clients,' the Exploratorium outreach coordinators. What a blast! XTech Students hit the ground running with an entire day devoted to skill building. They explored project-relevant concepts through a range of mediums including architectural drafting, hand modeling, and 3d digital modeling, before jumping right into the design process. On the third day, student teams presented their process, proposals, and full-scale prototypes to all of the project stakeholders, receiving feedback and suggestions, before diving into a table full of cupcakes. (WILL DESIGN FOR CUPCAKES should be a bumper sticker). A great success, and lots of in-house interest for further iterations and final implementation. Go XTech Students!
Big thanks to our partner organization, XTech, and their incredible teachers: Denny Tsang and Alex Toy, the amazing students, as well as all of the participating Exploratorium staff. Additionally, shout outs to the KIDmob "mob" - Sara Olsen, Sam Bertain, Ashwin Biln, Taylor Fulton, Myoung Kang, Chris Vandenbrink, Kate Ganim, Tyler Pew, Kadi Franson, and Sally Yee, what a fabulous team!