Weeks really do fly by at the Tinkering School. Well, at least this week did. The campers are just heading back from their last build, tired and satisfied [for the most part]. Some might go back and fine tune their projects later to get ready for their final tests tomorrow, before they take their projects apart. One of the many wonderful things about the Tinkering School is the process of taking the projects apart at the end of the camp, leaving only the experience [and MANY photos] to take back. This physical act of taking apart projects represents the importance of experience and not the final product; it is all about the fun had, things learnt, and experiences had.

Today, Piki further refined their project by changing the rope used, adding a crank and looking at different ways to hoist the chair [one pulley or two]. They used fish wire to connect two ropes together since the length was not adequate. Fish wire is used because it is much stronger than other wire and can bear up to 65 lb of weight. They also worked to make the ride smoother and decorated the chair. This project seems good to go for the tests tomorrow.

Nooi has been working really hard. They faced significant challenges today both structurally and mechanically. They had to add even more support on the top of the structure since it was the one actually pulling the elevator, which was quite challenging because they had to work at an elevation of 10 feet and had to trust their structure [we made sure it was safe of course]. Some of them spent the day working on the mechanisms and figured out the pulley system that they will use. They changed rope plans many times as well and decided to use the block and tackle pulley system. After a long, hard day of work their system works smoothly and happily!

Kablooi worked on refining their elevator system and they are done as well [almost... all they have to do is test it or a final time]! They worked on making the ride smoother, decorated the elevator. It is wonderful to see their group come together like this and I am happy to say that they worked passed their issues and have created something that goes up!

It was such a wonderful week and as a blogger, I was able to observe the workings of Tinkering School. I am excited to see what the coming weeks have in store for me and I look forward to interacting with campers more as a collaborator than a blogger.

We are having a bonfire tonight to conclude camp and spend the last night together singing songs and having a good time..
To say goodbye, here are some more silly photos of us having a good time....

TSO-A - Day 6- The Final Push...