Living Above The Sharks - Day 2 - Week 1 (Mark Day School)

Before jumping into our building projects this morning we took a few minutes to think about the meaning of tinkering. What is tinkering? Why do we we tinker?

The rest of our day was spent putting those thoughts into action as we built BIG. The supply depot/helicopter landing pad is almost finished and ready to undergo testing as we attempt to expand its function and make it the landing pad for the zip line as well. The island is shaping up and really pushing people to try harder than usual as they work in the heat, use the jigsaw and figure out some interesting angles for the boat dock.

One of many examples of our first goal “Collaborate and make friends.”

In addition to clamps, drills and chop saw on day one, our tinkerers sometimes have a need to use a new tool. Beth led an adhoc tool training on how to cut a full sheet of plywood using a jigsaw.

The house on stilts is looking VERY tall and very sturdy. We did some cautious testing today and we're now ready to put a house atop the stilts!

Reinforcing the stilts that will hold the house.

A “partner push” is sometimes needed for driving screws.

Testing the stilts for their ability to resist the levered forces of our zipline took some creativity. Here we are giving the thing a good pull. We learned a lot and will incorporate what we learned into tomorrow's build!

Our collaborators built a pulley station to help demonstrate how pulleys can be used to extend our reach and to lift heavy weights.

Click through the gallery below for more photos from our day. We will also be posting many, many more photos from throughout the week on our Flickr page.