Playing with the Sun - Cable Crawlers

“We have designed these activities as starting points for children to playfully follow their curiosity. We also invite you, the educator, to follow yours. The activities here are for you to reimagine to inspire your learners, and invite the kind of playful creativity you value the most.” Amos Blanton

License to hack We can recomend this activity as a friendship-class-acticity. We tested a set up where 6th graders were co-facilitaing younger kids at the maker Faire in the library. The oldest children visited the library on beforehand and did a workshop them selves. When the younger ones came the 6th graders where given three roles to clarify their responsability in the facilitation: -Buidinghelper - Testhelper - Observing and taking notes The acitvity can be hacked and used for what ever you are interessetd in in your team at your library. It can be framed in ways that talk to the context of the useres in your library.

Preperations It is an advantage to have a test course set up close to the building area, so the participants have a possability to test and iterate with ease. The course can be set up in a playground, in a tree or other places that invite play and movement. The participants build at a table, and test on the course that they have put up them selves.

Target Group The activity is best suited for children from 10 years and up. If there is a parent building with them, they can be younger. Time frame We have done the Cable Crawler activity as an open drop in acticity where the participants use as much time as they want to. Typically children are there for 10-60 minuttes. It can also be an activity for schools lasting for about 60-90 min. Materials - Playing with the Sun Kit - String/cable - Extra rubber bands

To give the activity some risk and excitement you can make a course that goes up high.

If it is a cloudy day you can use the handcrank to power the machies. That opens up the possability to explore how the energy is 'used' in the power pack with the angle of the cable as a variable. 

How to connect the parts

The energy travels from: - solar panel (or generator) to - solar engine (or power pack) to - engine with wheel

Facilitating In this workshop we have built inspiration models for the participants that they use when they are going to build them selves. The models have been developed from our own playfull learning with the kit. In out test of the activity we have met Frecquently Encountered Puzzels, so called FEP. As facilitator you can support the learners explorations with the questions: - How is the crawler balancing on the cable? - How is the friction between crawler and cable? - How is the solar panel in shade or sun when the crawler moves? - What effect does the number of panels have on the movement? - What effect does the angle of the cable have on the movement? - How can you optimize the crawler? - How can you make sure the crawler isn't 'hurt'?

Introduction In this activity the participants build cable crawlers run by energy from the sun og or from the hand-generators.

The test course is set up over the building table.

Base Models

<a href="bookcreator://page/erWF7WpHSd-BDHR2s8QzSQ">Introduction</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/PGxtktY7QAe6ZyabFwsqFg">Target group</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/PGxtktY7QAe6ZyabFwsqFg">Time Frame</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/PGxtktY7QAe6ZyabFwsqFg">Materials</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/LO0I65yRRzS0Hmnxk-C79g">Preperations</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/mUkTR4HSRYmQqFH2DVXZtg">Base Models</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/_EYvqfuoQJe-vyc1F_-L9g">Facilitating</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/X0cM13ZmT-Wnptb8wPVbOg">How to connect the parts</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/7A6xdZ5bSLGP3x4D9Xrj5Q">License to hack</a>

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