Upcoming Workshops
Animatronic Karakuri Playshop at the Center for Puppetry Arts
October 15, 2017
DESCRIPTION: When Portuguese explorers reached Japan in the 16th century, Japanese craftsmen were inspired to use cam and gear mechanisms they saw in western clockwork to create mechanically animated figures known as karakuri. Participants in this workshop will develop puppet characters while customizing an oarsman karakuri from a kit that introduces crank mechanisms. They will also learn to connect power, inputs, wires, and outputs in appropriate sequence by building circuits with littleBits.
Arduino Animatronics
October 21, 2017
The cutting edge animatronic technology Jim Henson pioneered in the 1980s with films like “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth” was complicated and expensive. Today microprocessors (mini‐computers) like the Arduino and electronic components like servomotors are inexpensive and easy enough for children and artists to animate any figure they can imagine and build. This cardboard robotics workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to design and build a simple animatronic puppet that uses a li leBits circuit to light up, make a sound, or move.