• Jake successfully installed Linux on a donated computer and also harvested motors from a DVD/VCR combo unit.
• Alex is trying to change the infrared filter on an old video camera to capture a light spectrum invisible to the human eye.
• Ella and Cillian have got the Arduino boards communicating with a couple of lab computers, and are writing basic programs (so far just output but soon we’ll tackle input as well).
• Rachel, Torri, Remy, Charlie and Griffyn are working on 3 different screenplays and will begin filming next week.
• Noah completed his first hand-coded website. Click here to view his iPad review and then click here to learn more about it.
• Lexi is recording a reharmonization of a Miley Cyrus song.
• Mike dismantled a laptop and is ordering a couple of kits from the MakerShed.
• Elijah has been working with a mixing board for turntables and an old Yamaha keyboard.

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Spring is a time for flowers, sunshine, developer conferences and DigiArts!

DigiArts is a time to explore programming and tinkering.  We might take apart a broken scanner. We might build a game in StarLogo TNG. We might make a stop-motion film.

Class time will be divided between direct instruction/presentations and free exploration. There may be a couple of field trips that will extend the school day until 4:30pm.

To get a sense of the offering, check out last year’s DigiArts blog, created by 8 students from the 7th and 8th grade.

• Students will plan specific projects and work independently towards completion with regular teacher check-ins.
• Students are responsible for regularly documenting progress on the 2010 Digital Arts blog, with writing, photos and/or video.
• Students are expected to share their work with classmates and the school community.
• We will not be playing with alternating currents, messing with networks or other people (but Rick-rolling is okay).

Because this class is limited to 10 students, you are required to apply.  Interested students should send Jac answers to the following (complete sentences where appropriate):

1. Why do you want to be in this class?

2. What are some project ideas you might be interested in working on?

3. With great power comes great _________________.

4. AYBABTU – explain.

What a day! We were out the door by 9am and took CalTrain south to the San Mateo Expo Center. After a half-mile walk we arrived at the purpose of this trip – the Maker Faire. We saw so many amazing things over the course of the day…the pictures below by Ella, Cillian and Bill tell a better story than words ever could:

My favorite part of this day was:

“the imploding quarters!” – Cillian

“the tv-b-gone that can switch televisions on and off from 100 meters away and the jeep covered in Lego!” – Lexi

“the super-realistic R2-D2 robots!” – Ella

“the life-sized mousetrap!” – Noah

“the Lego world exhibits!” – Alex MC

“the Van der Graaf generator!” – Bill”

Today we rode the train up to San Francisco today and then took the #30 bus from the station to the Palace of Fine Arts. We spent the morning at the Exploratorium – the museum of technology, art and perception.

Gabe got to “see” a sound wave using a vacuum tube filled with water. We climbed inside one of the columns supporting a rotunda built for the 1939 World’s Fair and filled the space with low tones that appeared to have volume fluctuations based on where we stood within each waveform. Alex MC spent some time today testing his ability to walk quietly while being judged by a decibel recorder. We interacted with visual illusions, psychophysical experiences, mind games and tactile curiosities.

We walked a mile to Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers, where we ran into Joe Grand. Joe is one of the stars of Prototype This, Discovery Channel’s awesome engineering and programming show.

“It was really cool when Joe opened his backpack and showed us a bunch of circuit boards that they used on the show” – Gabe

Joe was incredibly generous with his time, and spent a couple of hours with us. He told stories of his time on television, his interests as an engineer, his favorite projects and the DEFCON hacking conference. He entertained our questions about his favorite iPhone apps, OS thoughts, SF landmarks and life as a new dad.

Our afternoon plans were to visit the Golden Gate Bridge, but an overwhelming majority of us wanted more time at the Exploratorium for fun with physics.

Late afternoon we got a call from Mari Malvino, who works for the Giants baseball club. Mari and her boss, Pat Gallagher, invited the digital arts crew to a behind-the-scenes tour of the announcers booth and scoreboard control room. Jim, who works with the scoreboard, gave us an overview and pointed out some of the amazing technology they use. We watched an editor build the presentations that play between innings and saw the sound control guy using iTunes to manage his library. We got to take a pre-game stroll of the club level, where there is tons of great memorabilia.

“It was cool to see the stadium and scoreboard from the controllers point of view.” – Alex K.

At 9pm we were tired, cold, and a little taken-aback by the colorful language some Giants fans use when talking to the other team. We headed to the train and collapsed by 11:20pm. Tomorrow we are off to San Mateo for the grand finale – a full day of Maker Faire! We’re hoping to run into Ani, Adam & Raphael from Thursday and Joe and some Exploratorium folk from today.

“I can sum up the day in 5 words: walking, sitting, eating and guitar-hero-ing” – Cillian

We started the day hanging out at SeaTac in Terminal A and were mesmerized by a kinetic sculpture by Seattle artist Trimpin.

We boarded our Virgin America flight on time and “There were no snakes on the plane (says Noah).”  The entertainment system was broken but we thought Cillian could fix it…by the time we took off it was working again.  Alex MC watched Hannah Montana – Ella watched the College World Series on ESPN.

SFO has cool hand drying machines that Alex K tricked into turning on without drying anything.  Lexi sat on the people mover railing and floated down the terminal.

We took a shuttle to the hotel and checked in.  They gave us free toothpaste and hairbands!?  We ate our lunch in the hotel courtyard and tested the hotel wifi connections on various electronic devices.

3rd form of transportation for the day – we took the CalTrain into downtown San Francisco and then walked 2 miles through the Mission district to Noisebridge, an incredible hacker space.  We arrived unannounced and got a super tour of the facilities by Ani Neo – she showed us the tinker space, the electronics lab and the danger room.

We also saw some installation art, such as the Game of Life and one of the original Teen Hunger Force Adult Swim LED ads from the Boston freakout.

“I didn’t want to leave Noisebridge” -  Bill

We met Adam and Raphael from NYC Resistor, who are in town for the Maker Faire.  Adam has a 3-D printer called Makerbot and will be doing demos at the Faire – we hope to see all our new friends on Saturday.

“Amazingly awesome and I was extremely jealous of their workspace.” – Noah

Once our brains were full, we walked 2 miles up Van Ness to Japantown.  We walked by City Hall and then stopped at the Peace Center.  After a short rest, we carried on to Jac’s brother’s house, where we ate pasta, broccoli and ice cream and played a couple hours of collaborative Guitar Hero World Tour.

“The Stevester is awesome!” – Alex MC

We ended with a mile sprint to the train station (we missed our train by 6 minutes) and then hung out for a half hour until the next train.  Back to the hotel by 11pm.

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