Holiday Creative Computing Week 2022

The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Computer Museum are collaborating on a Holiday Creative Computing Week to be held every afternoon, December 26 – December 30, from 1-4 p.m., at St. Paul’s Church, 55 Main Street in Wickford.

This FREE family friendly event has something for everyone to enjoy. No sign-ups are required. If you a gadget geek, science nerd, budding engineer, or otherwise electronics-obsessed, then this is the experience for you! Even if you are just someone who is curious about the world of science and technology, come and explore with us! Learn something new!

Each day will also feature a drop-in STEAM activity to explore. STEAM crafts include catapults, spaghetti towers, binary bracelets, kinetic wind sculptures, electric dough sculptures, the science of slime, and building your very own kaleidoscope. Also featured each day is our marble roller coaster workshop. Create your own piece to the rollercoaster and help add on to our Rube Goldberg Machine.

This holiday week offering for technology and engineering-curious children grew from conversations between the Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island, who trained as a physicist and astronomer before entering divinity school, and Dan Berman, cofounder of the museum. “This is very cool event and I hope kids will take advantage of it “said Bishop Knisely.

This holiday pop-up event is the first in the museum’s new technology workshops for faith centers initiative through which the museum plans to engage young people in learning new skills through technology and STEAM activities. “We want to take the next step in educational learning by partnering with community churches,” said Dan Berman, co-founder of RICM.

Faith centers interested in hosting events should contact [email protected].

The Rhode Island Computer Museum (RICM) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1999. RICM’s mission is to be “A Knowledge Center to inspire young people for the future workforce by saving old and new technology.”

For more information, contact: [email protected]
www.ricomputermuseum.org

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

CREATIVE COMPUTING
1PM – 4 PM | Day 1
Geek out as we explore how to use computers and how computers work for you. Check out our new and old machines and see which ones you like best. We will introduce you to drawing things with a Doodle Bot and line following by color coding with an Ozobot. Then unleash your inner engineer with a take-apart session.

Drop in STEAM crafts: Get inspired by Leonardo DaVinci and create your own catapult. Challenge yourself or compete with friends and family to see who can build the biggest spaghetti tower.

3D PRINTING, CODING, & DESIGN WITH BLOCKSCAD
1PM – 4 PM | Day 2
Learn the foundations of coding, along with basic computer-aided design (CAD) principles, and
transform your ideas into real, everyday 3D printable objects! You’ll learn introductory concepts
including loops, variables, and modules, and make unique, personalized, three-dimensional
designs, such as a tablet or iPhone accessory, a science fiction character, or a vehicle. In this
class, students will create printable designs that demonstrate the concepts that they’ve learned.
The instructor will print these projects outside of class for a safe pickup.

Drop in STEAM crafts: Learn about coding by gaining a basic understanding of binary code.
Write your initials or a secret word and create a unique binary bracelet. Explore the art and science of color, light, and reflection while building your very own own kaleidoscope.

HANDS-ON ELECTRONICS
1PM – 4 PM | Day 3
Want to know how to solder electronics? We will use the latest tools: Arduino (for building
interactive devices) and Raspberry Pi (for learning about computers and coding) to design
hands-on projects ranging from LED light shows to small robots with microprocessors, all in the
name of taking ideas and making them real. Participants have access to a comprehensive
library of parts and equipment, and experienced instructors who can help them create the
devices of their dreams.
Drop in STEAM craft: Tap into your artistic side all while exploring the science of circuits by
building your very own Electric sculpture.

GAME ON
1PM – 4 PM | Day 4
Coders will have fun learning, exploring, and building games just like they do in the Science
Olympiad. Teams will work collaboratively on achieving set objectives within Scratch and
continue by building games such as mad libs, high seas, fortune teller, and more. Learn about
loops, strings, conditions and other topics including flow charting on paper and story
development in groups. Plenty of time for open play will be included!
Drop in STEAM craft: Explore the science of making slime in this simple hands-on activity.
Create your own slime to take home and enjoy.

Into the Wind: Wind Turbines!
1PM – 4 PM | Day 5
This Workshop aims to give students an engaging, balanced, and educationally valuable bigger
picture insight into the complexities of Wind Turbine design. We will discuss the relationship
between STEAM and renewable energy studies. Students will learn the basic concepts of gear
ratios and explore the number of blades and blade pitch. Working in teams, they will learn basic
measurement values in electronics based on their designs for a construction challenge.The setup
is easy for beginners, challenging for experienced programmers, and fun for everyone!
Drop in STEAM craft: Learn about Theo Jansen and his incredible Strandbeests all while
creating your very own unique kinetic wind sculptures.

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