TSO - H - Day 1 - An Adventure Begins
As campers arrive, they start to explore the site and meet some of the other campers. A table with catalyst kits containing wooden gears, chassis, motors, and more is a central starting point for getting into the tinkering mindset.
Cooper tinkers around with the catalyst kits.
Gretchen and Sophia test a rotating contraption complete with a blue LED.
After playing around with the catalyst kits, it is time for a formal introduction. We go around in a circle saying our names and spirit tools. After getting to know each other a bit better, we go over the 3 rules of tinkering school (plus rule number 6 which we don't talk about).
Once the introductions are complete, it is time to walk up to our build site to begin tool training. During tool training, we introduce some of the tools we will be using frequently in our project. We start with clamps which help us hold things together.
Kiana uses some clamps to stack 7 pieces of wood.
A group creates a tower held together only by clamps.
The next tool we go over is the driver which is used to drill holes and drive screws. Max, one of our collaborators demonstrates how to properly the driver.
Patrick and Alice practice safe driver usage.
The final tool we introduce is the chop saw. Kaitlyn teaches the campers how to use this tool to take a larger piece of wood and cut it to a desired size.
Ian is the first to try the chop saw.
Aime is next to try.
After tool training is completed, we head back down to the conference center for dinner and an evening activity. For the evening activity the campers are challenged to transmit a message from one side of the parking lot to the other without using speech. Teams get thirty minutes to prepare a plan.
With a "times up!", teams migrate out to the parking lot to enact their plans.
A team waits on one side of the parking lot for the message to be transmitted from the opposite side.
With some successes and failures, our evening is complete and it is time to head off to sleep. Tomorrow, in the morning, we will reveal and start work on the project for the week.