To get in the prototyping spirit, I created a physical representation of a big idea. The challenge was to do this all in under an hour and using only household items.
The big idea I chose to represent was the value of creativity. This can be interpreted a lot of ways, and I thought about it as it relates to my (and many others') current situation: socially isolated and stuck at home for the untold future. In these uncertain times, the value of creativity cannot be overstated. Rather than succumbing to ennui over the past few weeks, I have seen my friends and my students get creative with ways to pass the time and make the most of their situation.
Thinking about how to represent the value of creativity using household objects, my mind immediately went to Rube Goldberg machines. These devices are often silly, imaginative, and use out-of-the-box thinking to find novel ways to accomplish familiar tasks. Certainly a fun and creative way to stave off boredom!
I decided to design a dog treat dispenser using a table, books, a tape measure, a bell, and a cup:
From the far end of the table, I could kick a book under the table and trigger a domino effect that would ring a bell to wake up my dog and slide a treat across the floor towards him. A simple concept that took me a surprisingly long time to accomplish! My original ideas were far more complicated, but this was more manageable given the time constraints.
Here is a photo of the aftermath, in which my dog is still unsure of what just happened...
And here's a video of the whole chain reaction:
It worked, although it turned out the bell wasn't necessary since he woke up during the testing phase. Even though my dog was clearly unimpressed, I had fun creating this contraption and I think it works as a model of the value of creativity. It was also great practice in making ideas tangible and prototyping quickly.
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