Two years ago, while sitting with my then 3yo son, and an iPad I was exploring an app called Science360 which allows you to spin a sphere of videos and articles - science related - and choose what interests you. My son is/was a nut for science-related media and one of the videos we discovered together was this video published by Oliver Kreylos of UCDavis:
Being a science-8 teacher in Alberta meant I immediately saw how this tool could be used to open learning for Water Systems. I added it to the list of things I wish I had time to build.
Of late, the job situation has changed and I found myself with - time to build -. Project one was to create my own Augmented Reality Sandbox, with the help of students, in the middle of the school-library during lunchtime.
I spent some time with the open-source instructions published here: http://idav.ucdavis.edu/~okreylos/ResDev/SARndbox/ a National Science Foundation sponsored research project that has been published online for all to enjoy.
Having established a rapport with the school I went out and purchased $2K of hardware to run the software and started developing relationships with the students and parents of the school and quickly found myself a very helpful and talented Architectural specialist, Vera Parlac who sketched up a design for housing our sandbox.
The soon to be built "Sandbox"
A $1200 box and a borrowed screen
Using calgaryfreecycle.org as a daily point of "found-treasure" I was able to locate some free wood, and incorporated an old desk that was being turfed by the school, and a defunct bookshelf from the library storage. All of this was put together to hold my version of Frankenstein's Monster using the expertise of mostly grade 5 and 6 students who would rather cut, measure, and fasten than play out in the mild Calgary fall weather.
Learning to remove old nails
Learning to wield a saw
It took a few months to get to a point where programming would take place, and that stage (for those of us who struggle following step-by-step instructions) was easily the most difficult. Thankfully the read-me files supplied with the programs answered the majority of questions, and there is an online forum for those who wish to participate globally in making more and more of these projects.
A bookcase on an old desk
Hockey-tape and wire... nature's solution
When the time came to calibrate, and after some major troubleshooting, my son and I stuck our hands into the sandbox, at school, in a library, and welcomed parents and students to come and play with us.
The infinite Sandbox
Playing in the dirt
The learning is obvious, but the reactions are my favourite part. Such positive, responsive, and authentic joy being demonstrated by all ages. The only question that comes up now; what's next Mr. C?!
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