Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
3.4
Playful Projects
3.4.1
Poetry in Motion
'Poetry in Motion' is an example of a typical fi rst year project that encapsulates a
wide range of theoretical and conceptual elements into a unifi ed whole. The project
is designed to explicitly embody the concept of play and playfulness whilst implic-
itly introducing students to a range of design and manufacturing technologies and
principles.
The project was inspired by the popular 1960s board game, Mousetrap, in which
players cooperate to build a working Rube Goldberg-like mousetrap. Once the
mousetrap has been built, players turn against each other and attempt to trap their
opponents' mouse-shaped game pieces. In 2006 the game was rereleased with a new
design in which there are three mousetraps and completely different mousetrap
mechanism and gameplay. The project also references artistic works such as 'The
Way Things Go' by Fischli and Weiss or Jean Tingluey's 'Homage to New York' as
inspiration. The focus of such works is on the playful and creative sequence of
events that trigger each other without any practical purpose in mind. They are mech-
anisms for mechanism's sake - 'art for art's sake'. They exploit an innate under-
standing of physics and a fundamental enjoyment of movement and mechanics. The
structure and context of the Poetry in Motion project suggest that 'You don't have
to be an Engineer to fi gure it out'.
The overall goal of the Poetry in Motion project is to design and create a chain
reaction game using imaginative and interesting combinations of basic mechanical
systems. Overall, the project is designed to promote risk-taking as well as achieve a
practical appreciation of principles of physics and mechanics. The project is struc-
tured in two parts, the fi rst being the creation of a simple mechanical automata that
is designed using CAD software and then manufactured by utilising the laser cutters
in the faculty fabrication facility. This part of the project ensures that students
understand that the practicalities of motion of manufactured parts may differ from
simulated motion in the CAD software, often in catastrophic ways with mechanisms
failing to operate. One aspect of promoting a playful approach to learning and the
taking of risks is being prepared to deal with failure. A 'failed' project is often a
successful learning experience, and whilst beyond the scope of this chapter, we
embrace the success of learning even when the outcomes of a project may typically
be considered a failure (Connor et al.
2014b
). Typical mechanical automata are
shown below (Fig.
3.1
).
Upon completion of the fi rst stage of the project, students are encouraged to let
their imaginations run wild in the design and implementation of their chain reaction
game, applying what they have learned in terms of how mechanical systems work
in practice in combination with their understanding of the importance of social and
cooperative play. The outcomes of the project are predictably variable, with some
students successfully using the project to extend themselves into other play selves
through the process of an experimental approach to developing play. Some sample
student projects are shown in Fig.
3.2
.
