America First: Illuminated Pop-Up

Forgive me in advance if you are taken aback by my subject matter in this post, but sometimes art is the best way to wrangle with angst and uncertainty.  In this case, making a presidential pop-up did the trick.

I created this beauty using the principles of Robert Sabuda's Frankenstein.  I almost went so far as to make his comb-over pop-up as well, but diplomacy and my better angels won out.

And let's face it.  The outcome could have been so much more disconcerting if I'd positioned the lights where his eyes are.

When a QR code in my book is scanned, this illuminated pop-up glows steadily while a LilyPad buzzer plays the tune "This Land is Your Land" (see video).  While my subject matter may not be to everyone's liking, I take solace in the juxtaposition between a welcoming Woody Guthrie anthem (played on a tinny buzzer) and the image of a divisive wall.

My biggest take-away in constructing this pop-up was that paper circuitry may be used as more than just a tool of personal expression, but an instrument of political commentary.  I found the experience cathartic.

From a technical perspective, conductive fabric works very well for pop-ups with folds that need to bend a lot.

I used conductive fabric tape in places where the copper needed to bend.

In the future, if I'm going to continue making illuminated pop-ups, I'll need to better design my books to accommodate the added bulk.

This is the back view of the pop-up, prior to being glued down

My First Wifi-Connected Book is Complete!

Hello World!  

Electronic, Internet-enabled, Physical Story Book

To learn more about this book, visit my Instructable.

My First Wifi-connected Book 

Hand-bound, wifi-connected journal...prototype one.

Prep the covers & lay the copper leads between the holes in the spine

I twisted copper wire around the pads of the Photon & Lily Simple Power,
but I switched to stranded wire in a later iteration!

Solder the wire to the copper leads

Use a multimeter on continuity mode to identify shorts

Solder conductive fabric tape (adhesive up) to the copper leads

Sew signatures, adhering conductive fabric leads as you go

Insulate the conductive fabric on the spine using clear nail polish

Apply thin Velcro to back of battery; consider insulating back cover

Complete circuits & program Photon functions to tell your story

Add artwork & text

Dynamic Landscapes 2016

Aubrey Garrison and I recently collaborated in action research to design multimodal writing activities for seventh and eighth grade students as they composed narratives in a genre of their choice.  One group of seventh graders was given the additional opportunity to integrate paper circuitry as a multimodal writing tool.  Although we are still in the midst of analyzing data, our initial observations have led us to suspect that this approach led to increased engagement and participation among many students.

Yesterday, at Dynamic Landscapes, we shared some of our ideas, showcased examples of student work, and guided a small group of Vermont educators and students through a series of hands-on activities that included a seven-minute write and other creative writing prompts that might be applied in a writer's/ maker workshop.  Even though our workshop was an immersive (full day) session, we still didn't get through all of the activities we'd planned!

In addition to learning about circuits and switches, several participants learned to solder for the first time and how to program an ATtiny85 microcontroller to add special effects to their circuits.

Composition by the talented Caty Wolfe