Tinkering and Building with Cardboard Automata

Does your child enjoy tinkering or exploring how things work? Join us at Spark! Imagination and Science Center in Morgantown on May 27, 2017, 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., when we will be hosting a STEM/Makers Program for kids 6-14 years of age. Participants in the workshops will make and take home a cardboard automata, a moving sculpture, while exploring concepts of art, science, and technology.

Automata date back thousands of years. A cuckoo bird on a cuckoo clock is an example of an automaton that you may be familiar with. Youtube has many videos of automata, such as the Cabaret Mechanical Theater  and a great look at how automata are made today at this post.

“Cardboard automata is a fun way for kids to explore engineering using cams, levers, and linkages,” says Tiffany Martin, Education Coordinator of Spark! Imagination and Science Center. “By blending engineering with art, kids can have fun and be creative while learning how simple machines work.”

The cost of the cardboard automata program is $10 per child. The program fee includes all design and craft materials and instructions, as well as admission to the museum following the program. The child’s caregiver must be in the museum during the program. Space is limited and participants should preregister by May 27.  Prepayment is required and is nonrefundable.

Sign up for the program by emailing Tiffany Martin at educator@sparkwv.org, visiting the museum, or calling 304-292-4646.

This program is presented with support from the Governor’s STEM initiative and the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts.

Spark! is a United Way of Monongalia and Preston County funded partner.