Hello everyone!
Every week, NH-DI is going to publish a newsletter for families, which we hope will be full of educational resources and inspiration during this challenging time.
To view previous issues, head here.
Paper and Cardboard
This week’s workshop is all about paper!
- Learn about the invention of paper and a bit about its history
- Learn how to make paper at home with step-by-step instructions
Thanks to NH-DI volunteer Craig Richardson for developing this workshop!
Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it…
Mission 1: Your mission is to select the next number for the following sequence and explain why! Is the next number 2 or 3? This is a tough one… (Answer in next week’s Roundup!)
8 5 4 9 1 7 6
Mission 2: Your mission is to stage a movie night at a Drive-In! (Drive-ins were very popular in the 1940s and 50s—families would drive to the outdoor theater, park facing the big screen and pull a small speaker into their car, so they could hear the sounds of the movie.) Create your own Drive-In by producing cardboard vehicles for the entire family. Start with large cardboard boxes and make cars that can hang from your shoulders! Be as elaborate and artistic with these autos as you can—didn’t your mom always want a red SUV? When your vehicles are ready, select a movie and invite your family to drive-in! And send NH-DI pictures, please! We want to see your “wheels!” Note: Snacks are an essential staple of Drive-Ins!
Mission 3: Your mission is to hide a treasure and create a set of clues to lead someone to the prize! First, decide where you will start the hunt and the first clue location. Then, decide where you will place the next clue and so on! For instance, you might send your hunter from the couch (starting point) to the washing machine (where you have placed Clue 1). Consider making it even more fun by rhyming your clues (for example: “You played in the grass and your pants turned green! Now, go to a place where they’ll get clean!”) Get the idea? Make about 5 clues to help your treasure hunter locate his/her prize! Do a practice run just to be sure the clues have been correctly placed! What did you choose for a prize?
Mission 4: Your mission is to produce a replica of your own work of art! Make a pencil sketch of a simple scene—perhaps a building, trees, birds, flowers, etc. When you are finished, get a second sheet of paper and, using your non-dominant hand (uh-oh), make a copy of your original picture. Take your time! How did that go?
Mission 5: Your mission is to regrow a vegetable without planting a garden! Start with the bottom/stump of an organic* romaine lettuce or a head of celery—about 1” of stem. (*Use an organic vegetable because they haven’t been treated with growth retardants.) Place your stem in a shallow container, fill with about ½” of water and set in a sunny window. Change the water in your container every 1 or 2 days and don’t let the water evaporate! In less than 2 weeks, you should have a bit of fresh produce to contribute to the dinner salad!
Thanks to NH-DI volunteer Jill Schoonmaker for continuing to keep us inspired with these missions!
Some STEAM activities to try
Nature Study: Observe, Document, Design!
This activity will inspire you to take what you see in the environment around you and create your very own nature patterns.
Create a bug hotel
Build a living space for creepy crawlies. Put it outside and see who moves in!
Magic trick: make a coin disappear!
Transform your photo in the style of an iconic artist
From the bold, swirling movement in Vincent van Gogh’s paintings, to the surreal, confident brushstrokes of Frida Kahlo, many famous artists have instantly recognizable styles. Now you can use these styles to transform your own photos. With Art Transfer, a new feature in the Google Arts & Culture app, you can apply the characteristics of well-known paintings to your own images. To try it, open the Camera menu in the bottom bar of the Google Arts & Culture app and select “Art Transfer.” After taking or uploading a photo, choose from dozens of masterpieces to transfer that style onto your image. (And while you wait, they’ll share a fun fact about the artwork, in case you’re curious to know a bit more about its history.)
Challenges created by DI headquarters
Marshmallow Catapult STEAM Challenge
Build a catapult that can launch marshmallows to knock down 6 plastic cups stacked in a pyramid shape.
Virtual Instant Challenge: Unexpected Mishaps
This Virtual Instant Challenge is a performance-based activity and is all about mishaps that occur on a single day.
From our friends at Camp Gottalikachallenge
Share what you’ve created!
Were you inspired by any of the activities or resources in this Weekly Roundup? What did you build or create? We encourage you, with a parent or guardian’s help and permission, to share your creations on our Facebook or Instagram pages! (Just add your photo as a comment on our weekly post!)
And please share NH-DI’s Weekly Roundup with your friends! Ask them to sign up for weekly emails (if they’re 13 or older), or send them a link to our main Weekly Roundup page.
That’s all for this week, but we look forward to sending you more soon! And as always, if you have ideas for the Weekly Roundup, email Emily Richardson at emily.richardson@nh-di.org.
Published weekly by New Hampshire Innovation and Creativity Connection (NHICC), the nonprofit organization that operates New Hampshire’s Destination Imagination, Camp Gottalikachallenge, and Girls Engineering the Future programs. Learn more about us…