Overview
Over Spring Break, two teams of students are going to build two giant flip books. Together with artists from Riverviews Artspace and Blackwater Branding, they'll come up with a story and learn how to animate it. Meanwhile, engineers at Vector Space will lead students through the process of designing and building the giant flip book housing and mechanism. It's a perfect mix of engineering and art.
The completed flip books we build will rotate between several locations, including local schools, Riverviews Artspace, and Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest.
The Plan
We have five days to build a flip book. We'll meet from 9 am - 3 pm, Monday through Friday, Apr 10 - 14th. One team will start their morning working with Jawansa Hall at Riverviews Artspace, while the other begins their day with Adam Spontarelli at Vector Space. We'll take a lunch break, then swap places. This way, students will be working on their story and animation as well as designing and fabriating the flipping machine every day.
At Riverviews, Jawansa will lead students in designing the visual imagery for the flip book, utilizing contemporary stop motion and animation techniques. Once they have decided on a shared narrative, students will illustrate the story, bringing it to life with media such as drawing, vinyl cutting, visualization and alignment for effect, and more.
At Vector Space, Adam will lead teams through the process of desiging the housing and flipping mechanism. He'll teach students how to cut and weld the steel frame, how to calculate the necessary gear ratio and build the gear system, how to design and solder the electronics, and all of the problem solving that's required to make it work.
Eligibility
This project is for middle and high school age students.
Two scholarships are available through this application.
Our Sponsors
This project is generously supported by the following sponsors.
