In the tradition of the strategy games Mordheim, Warhammer or Dungeons and Dragons, create a war band of 10 miniatures and skirmish with other 'bands' to gain wealth, powers, and size. Painting your figures gives them a personality all their own.
In between games, help with the construction of a detailed scenery board to have for years to come. Build the environment, learn strategies, play the game. All levels welcome.
We collect challenges. We look at artists, inventors. and designers and ask: what excited them? what inspired them? Then we collect parts and tools for you to experiment with classic, historic and current challenges. This is the Workshop to discover what inspires you.
~ The Motorized Drawing Machine: An ancient quest: construct a machine that can draw something you could not. Construct your own two armed drawing machine to explore a higher order of complexity. Discover new tricks with our pendulum drawing machines.
The world is an Open Studio
If you want to find yourself, you will have to travel. This week: Five adventures to discover arts, customs and materials of the world....and to make them your own.
Clay
Museum Director and Ceramics Curator, Ryan Paxton, will take you to civilization's beginning: hand shaped clay prepared for pit firing. He will add small projects to introduce clay arts from around the world.
East Rock park was established 140 years ago to preserve and share the woodlands and wildlife that surround the river that powered Whitney’s machines. 400 acres rise from the tidal basin to a trap rock ridge with a panoramic view of Long Island sound.
Learn the arts of hiking: planning, map reading, orienteering, trail safety (sun, hydration, foot care,etc), responsible impact, proactive stewardship). Explore some of the Park’s 10 miles of trails. Use our brand new binoculars to get a closer look at birds and wildlife in the Park.
Trust marbles. They know all the laws of science and always follow them.
Every marble run you construct will teach you physics, precision, and persistence. Marbles want to roll downhill. You need only notice and remove the obstacles.
Construct very small, medium, and large marble tracks. Learn to balance creativity and reliability. (True creativity finds solutions that work.) Learn how complicated it can be to discover simplicity.
Explore the art , culture, and geography of India brought to us through the magic of Tara Books.
Dance, paint, design, and recreate traditional Indian themes and stories. Indigenous animals accompany us through India’s artistic heritage and early folklore.
Iterate the ancient custom of henna art brought to the Indian subcontinent by the Mughals in the 12th century AD.
Transporting people and cargo across our oceans every day boats are a very important part of our lives. Did you know they have their own language? Long ago sailors realized they needed to communicate with other boats without using words. A simple flag with color and pattern can represent a letter or a very specific message. What other ways can we communicate without talking?
****Please note that the tools and techniques used in this class will require a certain amount of size, strength, and manual dexterity that not all 11 (or even some 12 year olds) have yet. We cannot accept any campers who are less than 11 years old minimum and we will ask that parents who have any questions as to their child's readiness call us to discuss it and perhaps come in with the camper to meet the instructors before signing up.****
Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.
- Water Rat, Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Gramme 1908
A week devoted to the learning that follows floating and moving things on water.
~ Begin each day with a quick experimental boat challenge.
~ Each morning: work on a rugged battery-powered, radio-controlled tanker,or container ship,or cruise ship. Detail your boat to transport people or products. Construct tiny companion tug boats.
Humans have always recognized electricity in lightning bolts and fur that crackles when stroked. But the practical uses of electricity - circuits - have been discovered mostly from Eli Whitney's time to the present in simple experiments and creative accidents.
Experiment to learn:
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