The Dance Pad for Ants

Today Alysen, Erion, and I made the dance pad from the dance pad mania challenge from Design Squad.

The problem was we created it so small that it was basically a dance pad for ants. We decided to make that our prototype and then make a new one next Friday.

The next one will be a bit bigger and a lot stronger. Alysen was a lot of help and so was Erion with help duct tape and keep track of all the wires. It was a bit challenging to create, but in the end we were happy with what we made. We made it by taking one battery and running four wires to each end of the batteries. We attached two of those wires to a light and two to a buzzer. The light barely turned on but the buzzer worked fine. We the duct tapped everything together and then duct taped it to a small piece of cardboard.

Interview with Adam and Judy!

Today Adam and Judy came to our classroom at Hillwood Academic Day to talk to us for just over an hour. They are mechanical engineers, and mechanical engineers figure out how things works.

Judy and Adam are part of PBS Kids' DESIGN SQUAD, and they have been working with the television show and the website to highlight some design challenges — challenges that kids can do. Judy’s favorite episode of was working with the fashion designers. She liked it because they had a skill she did not have.

Adam and Judy met all sorts of interesting kids with amazing talents — a pilot, a welder, skate- boarders, and fashion designers.

The fashion designers did a fashion competition. Judy and her teammate made a modern dress. They made it out of paper-like material that has been used in making astronaut outfits. They folded the material to made it very compacted. Adam, on the other hand, made a dress that was an evening gown with motors hidden in the dress. When the model pressed a button it turned in to a short cocktail dress.

Adam's favorite episode was in Nicaragua, where they met kids from a school. At this school, instead of a playground, they had a jungle. The kids wanted a playground in the jungle, so Adam and Judy helped them build one. There were swings and lots of other sets.

In January, their show goes live on PBS television, and you can see them building a skate park in Arizona and custom bikes at Crucible in Oakland.

Flowers for the People!

Every where you click on the Flower Power website, a flower appears!

This website allows you to make your artwork pretty no matter what you draw! It's so easy, all you have to do is click your cursor. You can make things as simple as my picture, or you could make a picture as beautiful as the Mona Lisa. All you have to use is your computer mouse, no paint needed! This website titled "Flower Power" is fun and it's easy to make beautiful flower portraits.

Make Your Own Superhero

Marvel Comics has a "Create Your Own Superhero" website that allows people to design and show off their own super hero.

Here is the latest Herald creation.

Super Hero

Marvel Comics has a "Create Your Own Super Hero" website that allows people to design and show off their own super hero.

I made a super hero at Marvel.com. It was fun to make a super hero because you can make a hero if you are bored. First I picked a body then I add some stuff on my hero last I colored. Last I named my is hero I called my hero Rumbler. Now I saved my hero now its on The Hillwood Hearld.

This website is enjoyable to kids and parents too. Even little kids can do it.

By Brandon

Design for Giving Contest

Student Assignment: Everyone
Turning garbage into art. Helping families understand the importance of keeping the environment clean. Raising money for an orphanage. Improving the living conditions of construction workers. Putting a smile on the faces of the elderly.

The Design for Giving Contest is motivating schools across India to reimagine the act of giving. Taking place from August 15th to Oct 15th, the contest involves more than 30,000 schools across India. School children will design and implement solutions to help people in need. The goal of this movement is to help children realize that they can "be the change" they want to see in the world.

Read this note from Zara, aka Words, our contact in India.

Watch the above video and then answer the following two sets of questions:

1. What bothers you in San Francisco?
2. What are you going to do about it?
   
   
3. What bothers you in the United States?
   
4. What are you going to do about it? (Watch this video for inspiration.)
   

Remember, give helpful and instructive ideas for solving the problem.

This is the first part of our package about the "Design for Giving Contest." Students will interview someone from the program (a recent high school graduate), and the organization would like to post our video on their website. So, let's do a great job!

We will also do several other "related stories," including a news story, a Wordle, a photo essay, a look into what could The Herald do? How can we make things better?