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- PICO Cricket
- Motor
- Craft/art materials
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What is a kinetic sculpture? Basically, it is art that moves, but the art and the motion can take many different forms. The possibilites are endless!
This is the idea for the sculpture I wanted to make, but yours will probably look very different.
I had been playing around with a motion module that spun and bumped a wheel up and down. This reminded me of the motion of a tornado, which lead me to think of the house caught in the tornado in the Wizard of Oz.
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If you can already imagine your sculpture, think of what kind of motion you need and what mechanism is going to make that motion happen.
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Or, if you're looking for ideas for what to make, try starting with a motion...what does it remind you of?
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Once you've decided an idea, think of what materials and tools will you need to make the art part.
I decided I wanted to use wire to make the tornado and wonder foam for the house. I used a pair of pliers to help shape the wire and a hot glue gun to attach all the pieces together. |
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Next, make your art. Keep in mind that you may need to modify it when you attach or build in your mechanism.
Voila! With a little elbow grease and glue, my moving part is done and ready to be attached to... |
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...the mechanism. I had found this motion module in the office next door. It was close to what I needed, but I wanted it to spin and move up and down more.
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You may have to try many things or make many adjustments to get your mechanism working how you want it to. I tried a bunch of combinations of wheels and gears before finding a solution that worked well. |
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Here is what I came up with. Click the picture to see the changes I made to the original module.
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Now for the program...
Think of what your motor will do. Does your motion change direction? Do you need a slow or fast motion? Does your motion start and stop at certain times? |
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After 3-4 tries, I found a speed fast enough to spin the motor, but not too fast so as not to send my house flying. Click the picture to see a video of this twisty tornado. |
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Here are some other things you can do with your sculpture:
- Add a background or other scenery
- Make it interactive--add a sensor to trigger the motion
- Tell a story with it
- Show it to a friend!
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