Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: Crazy Coded Cardboard Contraptions

'Crazy Coded Cardboard Contraptions' is a MS elective course emphasising creativity, innovation, and hands-on learning. Held in the IDEA LAB twice a week, it is an exciting opportunity to blend art and engineering to transform students’ imaginative ideas into reality. 

 

In this elective, students are inspired to design, code, and build interactive sculptures and games using simple materials and advanced technology. They learn to use Hummingbird kits, which include sensors, motors, and LEDs, to create dynamic projects with moving parts.

The course begins with a fun and engaging project where students create complex animal-themed cardboard hats. This initial activity serves multiple purposes: it sparks creativity, introduces basic design principles, and provides a hands-on introduction to working with cardboard as a medium.

 

“This design elective, like many at ISP,  challenges students to think critically and creatively, solve problems and work collaboratively,” says their instructor, Dr. Elizabeth Perry. “We encourage them to experiment and iterate, learning from their mistakes and refining their designs as they go.” 

Once the students mastered the basics of construction and design, the course shifted its focus to the world of interactive robotics. Students were introduced to the Hummingbird kits and learned how to program the various components, and developed the technical skills to help them bring their cardboard creations to life. “When you can learn something like coding in an applied context - when you have a creative purpose for your code - it’s easier to see how your skills might transfer to another subject, another project,” continues Dr. Perry. “Students who have never done much coding discover that they can make amazing things happen.”

The culminating project and final design challenge for the students was to create an interactive robotic cardboard petting zoo! This ambitious project required students to apply everything they learned throughout the elective.  They had to design and build cardboard animals, program the Hummingbird components to create interactivity, and integrate sensors and motors to make the animals respond to touch or other actions.

 

The "Crazy Coded Cardboard Contraptions" course is more than just a fun and engaging class; it is a powerful educational experience that fosters a wide range of skills and attributes. Students developed their creativity and imagination as they designed unique projects. They enhanced their technical skills by learning to code and work with robotics components and also built important life skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork.