Exhibit Brainstorm (Prototype Project)

Exhibit  Brainstorm   (Prototype  Project)     Snapshot   This  brainstorm  can  be  run  with  students  or  with  teachers  to  as  a  tool  for ...
Author: Janice Mosley
2 downloads 3 Views 4MB Size
Exhibit  Brainstorm   (Prototype  Project)  

  Snapshot  

This  brainstorm  can  be  run  with  students  or  with  teachers  to  as  a  tool  for  brainstorming  and  fleshing  out  exhibit  ideas  for  the   Prototype  Project.    In  this  session,  ideas  are  generated  around  specific  topics,  participants  choose  other  people’s  

ideas  to  draw  and  then  pass  their  drawings  to  peers  to  iterate  on.  

Logistics   Format:    

Delivery  Space:  

Brainstorming/   Drawing  workshop  

Training  Room,   Prototype  Lab,   Classroom  (must   have  a  large  wall)  

Audience:  

Activity  Time:  

Set-­‐up  Time:  

Clean-­‐Up  Time:  

1.5  hours  

10  minutes  

10  minutes  

(include  grade   and  age)  

Adults   (Educators)   Junior  High,   High  School   Students  

Materials   Must  Have     •

• • • • • • • • • •

 

 

 

Tables  and  chairs  for  each  participant,  have  them   all  at  one  table  facing  each  other  or  in  groups  of  5   around  one  table   Lots  of  sticky  notes  (preferably  super  sticky)   PENTEL  Sign  pens   Coloured  Sharpies  or  Paper  Mate  Flair  markers   Drawing  boards/  writing  surface   White  8.5  x  11  paper  (3  sheets  per  participant)   Tracing  paper  8.5  x  11  size  &  11  x  17  size   Masking  tape   White  board  markers   White  board   Laptop  with  PowerPoint,  projector    

Suggested  Alternative  

Flexible;  not  necessary  

• Newsprint  cut  into  squares   • and  painters  tape  (instead  of   • stickies)   • Sharpies  and  easel  with   chart  paper,  if  a  whiteboard   isn’t  available.   • Role  of  tracing  paper   (cheaper,  but  pre-­‐cutting   and  curling  is  a  hassle)  

Standing  tables   Chart  paper-­‐sized  Post-­‐It   Note  pads  (to  collect  ,   organize,  transport   participants’  sticky  notes)  

Prep  &  Set  –  Up   Set-­‐up  each  seat  with  a  sign  pen,  a  drawing  board  with  1  sheet  of  white  paper  (put  the  remaining  white  paper  in  the   centre  of  the  table  in  a  pile).  Put  the  bin  of  coloured  Sharpies  in  the  centre  of  the  table.   Write  the  three  exhibit  categories  on  the  whiteboard,  e.g.  balls  /  water  /  energy   (note:  with  energy,  shared  random  things  we  know  about  energy  before  we  started  brainstorming  –  might  make  people   less  nervous  and  offer  points  of  entry  –  this  should  be  tested.)   Write  list  of  constraints  up  on  the  board.    (or  prepare  a  handout)  

 

1  

Think  about:   what  people  do,  not  what  you  want  them  to  learn  /  specific  audiences  /  unfacilitated  and  facilitated  experiences  /   different  lengths  of  interactions  /  solo  vs.  group  interaction  (competition)  /  different  kinds  of  challenges  (e.g.  physical,   puzzle)     Write  brainstorm  rules  or  show  them  on  a  PowerPoint  slide.  

  [PHOTO  GOES  HERE]  

Overall  Timing   10:30-­‐10:35  –  Intro   10:35-­‐10:40  –  Brainstorm  first  category   10:40-­‐10:50  –  Brainstorm  second  category   10:50-­‐10:55  –  Brainstorm  third  category   10:55-­‐11:00  –  Read  over  stickies  in  first  category  and  choose  one  to  draw   11:00-­‐11:05  –  Draw  your  exhibit   11:05-­‐11:15  –  cover  it  with  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right,  then  iterate   11:15-­‐11:25  –  cover  it  with  another  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right  again,  then  iterate   11:25-­‐11:30  –  return  to  original  owner  and  review  recommendations  –  group  feedback   11:30-­‐11:35  –  return  to  the  wall  of  stickies  and  choose  one  out  of  either  two  remaining  categories   11:35-­‐11:40  –  Draw  your  exhibit   11:45-­‐11:55  –  cover  it  with  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right,  then  iterate   11:55-­‐12:00  –  cover  it  with  another  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right  again,  then  iterate   12:00-­‐12:05  –  return  to  original  owner  and  review  recommendations  –  group  feedback  

Safety  &  Troubleshooting   If  mixing  TELUS  Spark  staff  in  with  participants,  make  sure  it’s  in  an  every-­‐other-­‐person  pattern  to  ensure  diverse   feedback  when  passing  exhibit  ideas  to  the  right/lift.   Try  experimenting  with  different  materials  (e.g.  8.5  x  11  paper  one  round,  then  11  x  17  paper  the  second  round)  to  see   how  that  affects  people’s  experience.  We  tried  giving  participants  pencils  first  and  then  sign  pens  to  outline  over  and  it   didn’t  go  well.  Participants  kept  editing  their  work,  erasing  a  lot.  They  also  felt  rushed  because  they  had  to  draw  once  in   pencil  and  then  go  over  it  in  marker.  

Workshop  Details   10:30-­‐10:35  –  Intro   Tell  participants  we’re  about  to  brainstorm  pilot  exhibits  on  different  topics.  2-­‐minute  discussion  to  connect  to  prior   knowledge:  How  do  you  use  Brainstorming  in  your  practice?     At  TELUS  Spark,  we  invite  people  from  different  teams  to  get  different  perspectives  and  as  many  ideas  as  possible.     Elicit  some  Brainstorm  Rules,  then  go  over  our  rules  of  a  brainstorm.   Remind  everyone  of  TELUS  Spark’s  exhibit  definition  –  single,  built,  interactive  in  a  gallery  (i.e.  not  an  entire  exhibit  hall).   Write  as  many  ideas  as  you  can  for  interactive  experiences  on  that  topic.  One  idea  per  sticky  note  (switch  sticky  note  pads   after  each  round  –  less  personal  association  with  ideas)    

 

2  

Go  over  list  of  exhibit  constraints  to  think  about.   10:35-­‐10:40  –  Brainstorm  first  category  –  Balls  (Sports)   Ask  participants  to  brainstorm  as  many  ideas  as  possible  about  balls.  (Reassure  them  that  we  did  this  240  high  school   students  and  it  was  fine.)   At  the  end  of  the  five  minutes,  as  everyone  to  release  their  stickies  onto  the  wall  under  the  category.  When  posting  stickies   onto  the  board,  look  at  other  people’s  ideas  to  gather  more  inspiration.  (encourages  idea  sharing)   Switch  color  of  your  sticky  note  pad  –  supports  anonymity.     10:40-­‐10:50  –  Brainstorm  second  category  -­‐  Water   Ask  participants  to  brainstorm  as  many  ideas  as  possible  about  water.   At  the  end  of  the  five  minutes,  as  everyone  to  release  their  stickies  onto  the  wall  under  the  category.     Switch  color  of  your  sticky  note  pad.     10:50-­‐10:55  –  Brainstorm  third  category  -­‐  Energy   Ask  participants  to  brainstorm  as  many  ideas  as  possible  about  energy.   At  the  end  of  the  five  minutes,  as  everyone  to  release  their  stickies  onto  the  wall  under  the  category.   Emphasize  the  number  of  ideas  the  group  produced  and  the  diversity.  So  creative!     10:55-­‐11:00  –  Read  over  stickies  in  first  category  and  choose  one  to  draw   Ask  participants  to  focus  on  whichever  category  has  the  most  number  of  stickies  (e.g.  Balls)  read  over  the  stickies  and   choose  one  that  you  want  to  develop  into  an  exhibit.  You  have  to  choose  someone  else’s  idea.     11:00-­‐11:05  –  Draw  your  exhibit   Draw  an  exhibit  on  that  idea  and  people  interacting  with  them.  Give  your  exhibits  titles.  Write  your  name  on  the  sheet.   Keep  the  original  sticky  with  the  exhibit  idea  on  the  board.  If  necessary,  remind  participants  of  the  definition  of  an  exhibit:   a  built  interactive  where  people  do  something  to  learn  something.     -­‐Two  minutes  before  they  finish,  add  the  prompts:  –  add  descriptors,  instructions,  prompts     11:05-­‐11:15  –  cover  it  with  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right,  then  iterate   Grab  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  tape  it  to  the  base  sheet  on  one  side  (so  people  can  lift  it  up  and  see  the  original  easily).   When  iterating,  you  can  draw,  write,  whatever  you’d  like,  keep  in  mind:    different  audiences,  and  increasing   engagement.     11:15-­‐11:25  –  cover  it  with  another  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  right  again,  then  iterate   Grab  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  tape  it  to  the  base  sheet  on  one  side  (so  people  can  lift  it  up  and  see  the  original  easily).   Again,  when  iterating,  you  can  draw,  write,  whatever  you’d  like,  keep  in  mind:  instructions  and  material     11:25-­‐11:30  –  return  to  original  owner  and  review  recommendations  –  group  feedback   Feedback:  Who  has  an  iteration  that  they  really  like?   Re-­‐set  the  drawing  boards  with  11  x  17  white  paper.     11:30-­‐11:35  –  return  to  the  wall  of  stickies  and  choose  one  out  of  either  two  remaining  categories   Read  over  the  stickies  and  choose  one  that  you  want  to  develop  into  an  exhibit.  You  have  to  choose  someone  else’s  idea.     11:35-­‐11:40  –  Draw  your  exhibit   Draw  2  different  exhibits  and  people  interacting  with  it.  Give  your  exhibit  a  title.  Write  your  name  on  the  sheet.     11:45-­‐11:55  –  cover  it  with  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  left,  then  iterate.   Grab  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  tape  it  to  the  base  sheet  on  one  side  (so  people  can  lift  it  up  and  see  the  original  easily).   When  iterating,  remember  you  can  draw,  write,  whatever  you’d  like,  keep  in  mind:    different  audiences,  and  increasing   engagement.    

 

3  

11:55-­‐12:00  –  cover  it  with  another  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  pass  one  to  the  left  again,  then  iterate   Grab  a  sheet  of  tracing  paper  and  tape  it  to  the  base  sheet  on  one  side  (so  people  can  lift  it  up  and  see  the  original  easily).   Again,  when  iterating,  you  can  draw,  write,  whatever  you’d  like,  keep  in  mind:  instructions  and  material     12:00-­‐12:05  –  return  to  original  owner  and  review  recommendations  –  group  feedback     Feedback:  Who  has  an  iteration  that  they  really  like?   Discuss  the  process  and  how  the  materials  for  the  brainstorm  affected  their  experience.                      -­‐How  would  you  use  this  in  your  classroom?  What  was  challenging  about  this?  What  did  you  enjoy?                        -­‐  emphasize  “Real  Tools  Build  Real  Skills”  –  highlight  the  use  of  sticky  notes  (Did  people  avoid  the  pale  yellow  ones?                                            Of  course,  they’re  the  boring  office  ones.  People  are  subconsciously  primed  to  notice  your  investment  in  materials                              and  will  match  their  response  accordingly.  E.g.  Museum  research  shows  you  will  get  higher  quality  engagement  from                        visitors  if  you  give  them  a  blue  circle  to  write/draw  on  instead  of  a  white  square.                        -­‐  the  use  of  tracing  paper  allows  people  to  iterate  without  permanence  –  take  or  leave  feedback   Emphasize  we  do  this  mostly  with  adults,  only  done  it  in  the  classroom  context  a  few  times  –they  know  what  works  best   with  their  students.  You’ve  got  the  word  document  of  this  –  please  iterate  on  it  and  let  us  know  what  you  tried.  We’re   always  looking  to  evolve  our  resources  and  understanding.     Clean-­‐up:  Give  participants  the  option  of  taking  a  category  of  sticky  notes  back  to  school  to  use  as  reference/exemplars  for   themselves  or  their  students.  If  this  workshop  happens  at  school,  leave  the  sticky  note  wall  up  as  long  as  possible.  It   reminds  them  of  their  creativity,  to  share  ideas,  and  gives  other  options  when  an  exhibit  they  try  falls  through.   EXTENSION:  If  you  have  time,  post  all  of  the  iterated  exhibit  ideas  to  the  walls  and  do  a  Gallery  Walk.  Give  each   participant  a  different  colour  pen  (or  pad  of  sticky  notes)  and  encourage  them  to  write  questions  and  ideas  on  the  final   trace  paper  copy.   Classroom/School  Connections:   When  we’ve  done  this  work  with  students  before,  confidence  greatly  affects  their  level  of  participation.  Try  to   work  in  some  confidence  building  work  before  doing  this  work  with  students.   The  giant  wall  of  sticky  notes  is  an  important  visual  for  students  –  emphasize  the  impressive  number  of  ideas  and   the  diversity  of  ideas.  It  really  boosted  their  creative  confidence.  (i.e.  One  grade  11  student  told  us,  “I  didn’t  think   of  myself  as  a  creative  person  before,  but  look  at  that  wall  with  all  those  ideas.  I  put  10  ideas  up  there!”)   Students  might  feel  blocked  by  trying  to  brainstorm  interactive  exhibit  ideas,  emphasize  interactive  experiences   where  you  learn  something  –  many  activities  or  programs  can  easily  transfer  into  exhibits.  

• •



Pilot  Observations  /  Things  we  want  to  try  next  time                      

 

4  

Other  exhibit  categories  to  try  brainstorming:   Ideas  using  machines  or  real  world  examples   Ideas  using  gears   Ideas  the  engage  your  entire  body   If  you  had  a  camera  that  could  see  heat  

• • • •

If  you  want  to  categorize  the  sticky  notes  the  participants  produced  to  show  different  types  of  exhibits:   -­‐Good  for  a  four  year  old   -­‐Quiet  or  introverted   -­‐Social  exhibit   -­‐Full  body  exhibit   -­‐Teaches  you  a  fact   -­‐Observe  a  phenomenon   -­‐Tells  you  a  story   -­‐Build  something  with  your  hands   Watch  out  for  participants  getting  stuck  under  the  “weight  of  prior  knowledge”  and  “it’s  been  done”  thought  process;   remind  them  that  they  don’t  have  to  think  of  an  entire  new  concept  but  can  also  build  off  of  existing  ideas.     Note  the  varying  ways  people  process  instructions  after  each  round;  we  had  teachers  who  had  vocalized  “Oh  I  did  it  this   way  instead  and  just  focused  on…”;  or  told  us  that  there  was  too  much  information  to  keep  in  mind  on  each  round  and   they  ignored  our  suggestions,  just  doing  their  own  thing.    This  is  something  to  encourage  as  it  offers  varying  perspectives   and  feedback  to  the  process.    

Resources   TELUS  Spark  ‘zine:  How  to  Build  an  Exhibit   TELUS  Spark  ‘zine:  How  to  Pilot  Test  an  Exhibit   TELUS  Spark  exhibit  developer  videos  (Telling  the  story  of  exhibits  from  idea,  through  testing,  iteration,  and  final  result)   Office  supplies  purchased  for  this  brainstorm  with  240  grade  11/12  students   EWay   5  pkgs  of  these  super  sticky  notes   http://www.eway.ca/Eway/Product/MMM6753SSUCC.aspx?R=MMM6753SSUCCEN&No=0&N=21206567&Ne=1000000 +2000000&filterby=CF_ALL   AND  5  pkgs  of  these  super  sticky  notes   http://www.eway.ca/Eway/Product/MMM6753SSNRP.aspx?R=MMM6753SSNRPEN&No=0&N=21206567&Ne=1000000 +2000000&filterby=CF_ALL   2  packs  -­‐  plain  white  paper   http://www.eway.ca/Eway/Product/RLA5101.aspx?R=RLA5101EN&No=0&N=1188740&Ne=1000000+2000000   Office  Max  /  Grand  &  Toy  –     20  boxes  of  Pentel  Sign  pens:   https://www.officemaxcanada.com/en/product/S520-­‐A_Pentel_Original_Sign_Pen.aspx   1  x  2-­‐pack  Post-­‐it®  Self-­‐Stick  Wall  Pads,  20"  x  23",  2-­‐Pack   https://www.officemaxcanada.com/en/product/566-­‐S_Post-­‐it_Super_Sticky_Self-­‐Stick_Wall_Pads.aspx   Mona  Lisa  Artist  Supplies:   10  rolls  of  tracing  paper  (18”)  –  1  roll  per  table  

 

5  

ULINE:   12  rolls  of  ¼”  orange  Masking  tape:   http://www.uline.ca/Product/Detail/S-­‐7161-­‐O/Masking-­‐Tapes/1-­‐4-­‐x-­‐60-­‐yards-­‐Orange-­‐Masking-­‐Tape?model=S-­‐7161-­‐ O&RootChecked=yes    

 

6